CCPC asks Senate, Congress to pass FOI

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) is urging both the Senate and Congress to act on the Freedom of Information Act of 2012 before the end of the 15th Congress.

The council passed a resolution for this purpose during its meeting yesterday, in time for the celebration of the Cebu Press Freedom Week.

CCPC is asking the legislators “to pass a bill that serves the public’s right to know without prejudicing public interest, as distinguished from the private interest of government officials, and without using the bill as vehicle for the right-to-reply bill, which required full and separate discussion.”

Jonathan Capanas, CCPC’s Secretary, said they agreed to request the Senate and Congress to act on the bill as soon as possible as they only have three month left before the year ends and legislators will soon be busy with the 2013 elections.

Cebu Daily News editor-in-chief Eileen Mangubat suggested to make the request “urgent”, which was approved by the body.

The council also approved Sun.Star’s former editor-in-chief, lawyer Pachico Seares’ suggestion to furnish President Benigno Simeon Aquino a copy of the resolution.

Copies of the resolution will also be sent to the national media organizations that have worked and campaigned for the passage of the bill.

Yesterday’s meeting at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel was attended by different media personalities such as Bobby Nalzaro of GMA-7 Balitang Bisdak and his co-anchor, Atty. Rose Versoza, The FREEMAN’s Divine Ngujo, columnists and bloggers.

Guest speaker Ramon Isberto, Smart and PLDT public affairs head, had a 20-minute discussion on “dealing with newsrooms and new media.”

Isberto presented the trending social media which might overtake the radio and print.

“Anything that goes online will go mobile,” he said, as he presented the continuous down trending of newspapers in the past four years.

However, even with this fact, Isberto does not believe that print media will die.

“It will survive but there are rules that should be changed,” he said.

He cited that in the 1950s, there were predictions that radio would die with the introduction of the television but it did not.

Seares said newspapers are easy to navigate and is much full in content than social media.  (FREEMAN)