CITY OF MALOLOS—Libel and cyberlibel complaints against members of the media can now be heard and settled within its rank without needing to reach the prosecutor’s office and the courts after the Department of Justice Office of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (DOJ-AODR) trained media group leaders to handle mediation and conciliation.
The presidents and chairmen including other key sector members—the youth, business sector of the ten media-citizen councils in the country—Batangas, Iloilo, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Central Luzon, Region 8, Davao City, Aklan, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao (BARMM) underwent a 40- hour, six-days, July 8-13 extensive training on mediation and conciliation held in Quezon City. The council’s respective lawyer members also joined the training. Representatives of the Kordilyera Media-Citizen Council, a separate council established in 2021 by Internews, also participated in the training.
The training was conducted through partnership and agreement between the DOJ-OADR, the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) and the International Media Support (IMS).
The PPI-IMS in 2022 started to spearhead and supported the establishment of all the ten media-citizen councils for different sectors in the community to have a platform where they can bring their grievances against erroneous reportage and libel and cyberlibel complaints of members of the media. Through representations of the different sectors in the councils–church, academe, business, agriculture and partner groups–the police, the military, local government units, filing of formal charges against a media member can be thwarted.
Ariel Cervantes Sebellino, executive director of PPI said the goal is not to only help protect the media but also to remind them of the strong need to be accountable and responsible in the articles they write in print and online and in the news their air on television, radio and even in digital media which will absolve them of factual errors, unbiased reports that could make them be liable for libel and cyberlibel charges.
Undersecretary Irene De Torres Alogoc of the DOJ-OADR said the training is mandated under Section 2 of Republic Act 9285 or the ADR Act of 2004 which aims to enlist active private sector participation in the settlement of disputes through ADR and encourage and actively promote the use of ADR as an important means to achieve speedy and impartial justice and declog court dockets.
Alogoc said the ADR or the mediation and conciliation process has been in existence for 20 years now, yet, still, it has not been absorbed and practiced by different private sectors.
Media-Citizen Councils, the first trained media group
Ryan Thomas, head of the Policy Division of the DOJ-AODR said after the training on Saturday that most of those already accredited mediation and conciliation offices and groups by their agency belong to the business sectors and law offices.
He said, the eleven PPI-IMS media-citizen councils are the first batch of media organizations in the country that seeks accreditation through the conduct of the comprehensive six-days training.
Civil cases, libel and cyber libel cases can be heard in the mediation-conciliation level and upon settlement, will no longer proceed to court.
Thomas said in January this year, the DOJ started to implement ADR approaches through pilot initiatives in city prosecution offices in Metro Manila to further promote and strengthen the ADR process.
The prosecutor’s offices in the provinces will also implement the ADR system and that the DOJ is now preparing to do this, Thomas said. “We are told that the DOJ intends to roll it out to other regions after the training of prosecutors in the provinces which is the subject of ongoing discussions by the DOJ and the OADR,” he said.
The training through conduct of lectures to the 40 media council heads, lawyers, business group, youth and other sector representatives on introduction to ADR, anatomy and analysis of conflict, mediation-conciliation fundamentals, inclusive and non-violent communication in mediation, mediation ethics, stages of mediation and simulation exercises, mediated-conciliated agreement.
All the participants underwent written and skills assessment and will be the basis for the accreditation as mediators and conciliators.
The OADR also discussed the policy framework for the development of ADR programs, OADR accreditation and certification and promotion of programs and activities.
Effective mechanism for the Media-Citizen Councils
Francis Angelo, president of Iloilo Media-Citizen Council said the ADR is a mechanism that will bolster the credibility and skills of media-citizen councils as watchdogs of media practitioners and bridge between media and its audience, which is the community and that it will become a basis for the rules and procedures of the councils in attending to and resolving professional and ethical questions raised against journalists.
Ricky Bautista, president of Region 8 Media-Citizen Council highly welcomed the training as this “equips our councils with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively mediate and conciliate disputes, particularly those involving journalists and complainants of erroneous reportage”.
Ricky Bautista, president of Region 8 Media-Citizen Council highly welcomed the training as this “equips our councils with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively mediate and conciliate disputes, particularly those involving journalists and complainants of erroneous reportage”.
“By understanding ADR techniques, council members (esp those trained and accredited by DOJ) can facilitate more constructive dialogues, promote mutual understanding, and seek amicable resolutions. This not only helps in resolving conflicts but also upholds the integrity and credibility of journalism in our respective areas. Ultimately, ADR training fosters a more collaborative and less adversarial approach to handling disputes, benefiting both the media and the public,” he said.
Rey Celeste Suravasquez, president of Agusan del Sur Media-Citizen Council similarly thanked the OADR-PPI-IMS for the training saying the activity is very significant for the councils to enhance their credibility in handling potential libel or dispute cases.
Clarence de Guzman, a 4th year graduating journalism student of the Bulacan State University (BulSU) and the youth representative in the Central Luzon Media Citizen-Council said being both the voice of the students and the youth in the journalism profession, the training gives her a far wide perspective on how and why journalists should be accountable and responsible in their articles to avoid facing libel and cyberlibel complaints.
Also, De Guzman said, the ADR will be the most effective process to settle disputes against media members within their level.
