Gagging the press

If you can't strangle your enemies, what's the next best thing? You can strangle the press. Perfecto Yasay Jr., who has promised to step down March 25 as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said Wednesday he wanted media entities, including foreign news agencies, to comply with "due diligence" requirements regarding news reports on the securities market. Reporters and columnists may also be compelled to identify their sources of information, Yasay said.

Amid criticisms that he was trying to gag the press, Yasay backpedaled yesterday, saying journalists need not necessarily divulge their sources on stock market news "provided that they exercise due care" in verifying the accuracy of their information. But he did warn that under Section 40 of the Revised Securities Act, the SEC "has the power to license, regulate, supervise, even suspend and discontinue the operation of news disseminating services or securities information processors" that publish information related to the stock market.

In compliance with this mandate, Yasay said, the SEC decided last Feb. 24 to prepare a circular reminding those engaged in the dissemination of information on the securities market "to be responsible for the truth-fulness" of their reports.

There's no need for the government's chief regulator to remind the press about the need for accurate reporting. A media entity's long-term survival depends on credible and responsible journalism, and responsibility includes truth-fulness. The effort to ferret out the truth resulted in the news reports that highlighted the problems now besetting Yasay, the SEC, the Philippine Stock Exchange, Best World Resources and its president Dante Tan. The press did not create those problems; it only reported them.

In a less than transparent gov-ernment, news leaks and anonymous sources are often the main sources of leads and accurate information on official wrongdoing. Admittedly, journalists occasionally slip in the accuracy department, but such slips are generally honest mistakes, and they don't mean journalists don't do their best to report the truth.

Whatever clarification Yasay makes, he has managed to give the impression that he wants the SEC to clamp down on the free flow of information. This, at a time when openness and transparency are necessary for the survival of Asian economies. What's Yasay up to? Suddenly, March 25 seems too long a wait.