Author: DAVAO TODAY

Bayan calls lifting of Proclamation 1017 ?deceptive?

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY ? A group of lawyers in Mindanao warned Sunday that the non-resolution of the petitions by several groups questioning the legality of Proclamation 1017 before the Supreme Court may ?embolden the administration to further tinker with the 1987 Constitution and the peoples? civil liberties.?

The Union of People?s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), in a statement, implored the Supreme Court to resolve the issues. It pointed that the lifting Friday of Proclamation 1017 ?should not be made a ground to set aside the constitutional issues that hounded such a blatant betrayal of the true spirit of the EDSA People Power Constitution.?

Despite the lifting, it added, there is still a ?clear and present danger? to the civil liberties of the Filipino people. It said the non-resolution of these petitions was like the sword of Damocles. Hanging over the head of the public.
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By Cheryll D. Fiel and Germelina A. Lacorte
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY ? ?Wrong.? ?Very stupid.? ?Very gray.?

These were the reactions by Davao officials to the reported National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) circular banning broadcasters from using anonymous sources in their newscasts and reports.

The circular, which the NTC disclosed on Saturday, was just the latest in the government?s alleged efforts to control the Philippine press, despite the lifting of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s Proclamation 1017 that many critics said specifically targeted the media.

The NTC reportedly issued a circular officially adopting the guidelines, supposedly drawn up by the industry group Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP), among them that a station ?may not broadcast news to which it cannot attribute a source.?

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