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In the midst of the pandemic in late 2021, representatives from the media, the academe, government, civil society, NGOs, and artists came together to form a new media council for the city and the region. The Kordilyera Media-Citizen Council (KMCC) was formed as a media-self regulation mechanism initiated in partnership with civil society.
KMCC was formed through the efforts of The Peace and Conflict Journalism Network (PECOJON) under the Initiative for Media Freedom funded under the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Internews in the Philippines. Elsewhere in the country, 10 other media councils have been recently formed with the support of the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) and International Media Support (IMS).
In the past, Baguio was touted for having the Baguio Citizens Press Council which signified that a free and forward minded media culture was thriving in the city. The BCPC, however, eventually died. This was partly due to its irrelevance and the lack of complaints being brought to it. Thus, many were wondering why the sudden interest in reviving press/media councils in the country?
The press council or the media council is meant to be the proper avenue for complaints against the media. If the complainant is hindered from addressing the issue to the publisher or editors of the erring media itself, then they can file their complaint to the media council. However, complaints are often limited to those which the council can address like inaccuracies in reportage or the right of reply. For one, it cannot handle labor cases affecting the media. It cannot push publishers or media owners to pay their former employees or give existing media workers a raise. Nor can it punish errant journalists or bloggers except to remind them of ethical considerations through open letters and statements.
And what about cases of libel or cyberlibel? While still on a test run, a few courts in Metro Manila are now exploring the settlement of libel and cyber libel cases through Alternative Dispute Resolution. If successful in resolving the growing number of cases, the program might be implemented on a national scale. This is where media councils can find renewed relevance. They can now help in the settlement of disputes like libel and cyberlibel with more teeth.
For almost a week in July, CNA President Frank Cimatu and I, as representatives of KMCC, joined in the mediation – conciliation training for media councils conducted by the Department of Justice Office of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (DOJ-AODR) in Quezon City. We trained with 30 other media council representatives from all over the country. The idea was broached by PPI and IMS with the OADR to help strengthen the media councils by giving them capabilities to conduct mediation or conciliation of media related cases in their jurisdiction.
After passing the grueling training and exams, the media council will now have members that are accredited mediator-conciliators. The next step is to have the media councils be accredited as venues for conciliation and mediation. This means that agreements arrived at with the help of the media council will also be recognized by the courts. Parties will be able to save on time and fees for court cases and still find a way to settle their disputes peacefully.
While all these seem promising, admittedly media councils still have a long way to go to prove their relevance.