Miriam: Media should be neutral

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago wants a "neutral media" to cover President Estrada’s landmark impeachment trial.

Santiago appealed to the media yesterday to be factual in their reporting and respect the principle of fair play when covering the proceedings at the Senate.

"Impeachment is a political process, but it is also analogous to a legal process," she said. "Therefore by analogy, the media should also respect the principle of fair comment while the case is sub judice."

Former Representative Raul Daza, one of three defense counsels for President Estrada, agreed with Santiago yesterday that all 22 senators be barred from talking to the media once they sit as jurors in the impeachment trial.

Daza told reporters that in the United States, from which the Senate’s impeachment rules were largely taken, jurors are often moved into seclusion and ordered by the judge not to talk to media.

"The purpose of the ‘gag rule’ is to forestall the possibility of a juror prejudging the case," he said. "The application of a gag rule will be a wholesome and laudable move."

Mr. Estrada’s two other defense counsels are former Chief Justice Andres Narvasa and former justice minister and Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza.

Daza said the three of them are prepared for the impeachment trial, which starts Dec. 7, and that they are confident that the Chief Executive would be acquitted.

Santiago warned yesterday that "a national newspaper identified with the opposition" has started targeting her and other pro-Estrada senators through a multi-media "black propaganda" campaign.

Santiago said a news item that appeared recently allegedly went beyond the facts and "falsely interpreted what she said" and attacked her honesty, credibility, and popularity.

"I was set up. The interview took place several days before the Senate reorganization, but the newspaper made it appear otherwise," she said. "The item was published under a banner headline, so that the next day it would serve as a basis for attacking my impartiality."

Santiago said the reporter took out of context her statement that "the result of the (impeachment) trial would depend on the evidence that will be presented by both parties," and that what she said did not appear in the article that was published.

"It would have been improper and unintelligent for me as a former RTC judge and UP law professor to predict the outcome of a case where I shall sit as a judge," she said. "Plain common sense dictates that any report to the contrary is malicious."

Santiago said the senators who have called for the President’s resignation are ones who should be disqualified to sit as jurors in the impeachment trial.

"How can an opposition senator claim to be impartial when he or she has already called for the removal of the President?" she asked. "That is prejudgment, plain and simple."

Santiago said she will ask the Senate in next week’s session to amend the rules on impeachment to include the principle on sub judice, requiring media to limit reports to facts.

"My situation is similar to that of a prospective juror whom the adverse lawyer does not want to sit in the jury, and tries to eliminate on the basis of malicious insinuation," she said.

At a caucus of the majority last Thursday, Santiago said she proposed that senators or jurors be barred from granting interviews to media while Mr. Estrada’s impeachment trial is being heard so they would not be "framed" just like what happened to her. – Paolo Romero, AFP