Chiz: Media, government should be partners in nation building

CEBU, Philippines - Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said yesterday that government and media should be partners in nation building as the media is not part of the government but a partner.

“The media is the watchdog of a bad government,” Escudero said during the forum on Citizen-Media Participation in the Elections held at the Marcelo Fernan Press Center as part of the 15th Cebu Press Freedom Week celebration.

Escudero said that if government is transparent, media is not a threat.

“Kung wala kang ginagawang mali, media is not a threat,” Escudero said.

Meanwhile, Escudero said that any attempt to curtail press freedom has always been opposed, not only by the media but also the people, and history has shown that it will ultimately fail.

Escudero said that the proper remedy for public officials or private persons who may be aggrieved by any publication or broadcast is to file criminal charges for libel or slander, should they feel the media has violated their right to a good name and reputation.

Escudero, a lawyer, said that the remedy does not lie in dictation or the curtailment of editorial discretion in the evaluation of new items or in requiring broadcast commentators to say something they do not mean.

“Public servants, as they say, live in glass houses, and they must steel themselves from criticism while in public service,” he said.

Escudero also said he is against the Right to Reply Bill.

He said that if this bill becomes a law, it could become a tool for the unscrupulous and the corrupt to handcuff the media.

“We cannot legislate responsibility. I am opposed to this bill and I will continue to oppose it,” Escudero said. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/BRP (THE FREEMAN)