Bill seeks to make court proceedings available for media coverage
MANILA. Philippines — Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro, 2nd District) has introduced a bill seeking to make court proceedings in the country available to the public.
Rodriguez filed House Bill 7681 or “Sunshine in the Courtroom Act” that seeks to give parties impartial trials while court proceedings are made available to the public by broadcasting, televising, recording, and taking photos of the session. It will be the Supreme Court that will issue rules and regulations as well as other guidelines to implement the proposed bill.
In the Philippines, only Congress proceedings are allowed to be aired or recorded by the press. Reporters may seek permission to attend court proceedings, but they are essentially barred from recording or documenting the trial using gadgets. Reporters may opt for hand-written notes, and access to stenographic notes may also be given although this may take time.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, provides live audio recordings of the oral arguments in some cases.
Under Rodriguez’ proposed bill, justices and judges from the Court of Appeals, the Court of Tax Appeals, Sandiganbayan, Regional Trial Courts, the Metropolitan Trial Court and the Metropolitatan Circuit Court will authorize media access to court proceedings. This means the responsibility falls under the judges or justices to decide whether publicizing the proceedings will endanger parties or the court itself.
However, the bill also seeks to provide guidelines on media coverage to ensure that while the public gets access to information, the safety of parties involved are assured and the court remains secure.
For example, recording or taking photos of privileged communication between clients and lawyers will be prohibited. Case parties may also request to have their faces or voices obscured in the recording. – Kaycee Valmonte
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