The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) has not finished giving the IDs to media workers from Luzon and even in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The deadline for application for accreditation with the PCOO was on March 26.
PCOO Sec. Martin Andanar said the office prioritized distributing IDs to those from NCR, that is probably why those from outside NCR may have not received their PCOO IDs just yet. The PCOO IDs for media workers doing coverage work is required at police-controlled checkpoints.
The PCOO will ask the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for a “clearer guideline” if the deadline could be extended to accommodate the whole of Luzon.
“Because obviously ‘yung deadline that binigay sa atin is not enough, even for issuing the IDs in the Metro Manila lamang. Natapos tayo nung Huwebes at marami pang humihingi so we will have to seek the wisdom of the IATF by Monday,” said Andanar.
[Because obviously, the deadline that we were given is not enough, even for issuing the IDs in the Metro Manila alone. We finished on Thursday and more are requesting so we will have to seek the wisdom of the IATF by Monday.]
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya and Task Force COVID-19 Shield Commander Lt. Gen Guillermo Eleazar suggested that company IDs of media workers from those outside NCR within Luzon will be accepted by police in checkpoints in the meantime.
Prior restraint
Media groups and lawyers have protested the PCOO media accreditation as ‘prior restraint.’
“This is but another form of prior restraint, a means of controlling the flow of information. The national government will not only require accreditation but will also direct reporters and media workers to areas that they deem “safe” to cover,” said Altermidya in a statement.
The government cannot require media to secure accreditation as a condition to cover events during the enhanced community quarantine, according to the National Union of Peoples Lawyers (NUPL).
“The Constitution guarantees that “no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press”. Such a requirement is one such “law” as it hampers the work of journalists covering events related to the current situation and other matters of public concern. It is open to discrimination and suppression,” said NUPL in a statement.
The lawyers’ group asserted that “the exercise of press freedom does not rest on the permission of government.”
A joint statement signed by 16 media and artists groups said the imposition is unnecessary, unreasonable and unconstitutional.
“We acknowledge that many media outfits and colleagues have already applied for and acquired accreditation because of the urgent need to sustain coverage. However, we stress that this should not justify preventing journalists with valid press credentials from moving around to perform their duties sans the added accreditation,” said the statement.
Andanar said during the IATF press con following President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement of total lockdown in Luzon that PCOO will not deny any media person accreditation as long as they have submitted the requirements.
However, some alternative media groups reported being denied or discriminated against being given accreditation for not being “mainstream” by the PCOO.
Bulatlat.com said “Last March 22, we called someone from the International Press Center (IPC) to inquire about our application. She told us that she does not remember seeing our application and said her office is prioritizing mainstream media (which we understand to be the big media outfits) for accreditation. When asked why, she said that the IATF instructed them to limit the number of journalists to be given the special pass. She added the IPC has so far received 10,000 applications and allowing all these media workers to go out during the quarantine period “might cause the spread of the virus.””
They were also told the online media outfits can “work from home” or just use their company IDs if going out–but this is inconsistent with the IATF guidelines.
Another alternative video group who applied for accreditation was told by the PCOO that accreditation is limited to mainstream media.
