SC allows live coverage of Maguindanao massacre trial

The Supreme Court allowed live media coverage of the trial of Maguindanao Massacre on Tuesday.

Jose Midas Marquez, Court Administrator said, "the court took into consideration the impossibility of accommodating all the parties."

Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, however, said that it is about time to craft a win-win solution that shall not compromise rights in the criminal administration of justice, sacrifice press freedom and allied rights, and interfere with the integrity and solemnity of judicial proceedings.

SC ordered rules for the coverage:

• The audio-visual recording may be made both for documentary purposes and for transmittal to live radio and television broadcasting;
• Media entities must file with the trial court a letter of application manifesting that they intend to broadcast the audio-visual recording of the proceedings and that they have the necessary technological equipment and technical plan to carry out the same with an undertaking that they will faithfully comply with the guidelines and regulation and cover the entire remaining proceedings until promulgation of judgment.
• No selective or partial coverage shall be allowed.
• No media entity shall be allowed to broadcast the proceedings without an application duly approved by the trial court.
• There will be a single camera stationed inside the courtroom and all the other camera will take its live feed from that camera so that SC-PIO will be putting a camera inside the courtroom and all other station whether TV or radio will be getting their live feed.
• The broadcasting of the proceedings for a particular day must be continuous in its entirety excepting such portions where the Rules of Court excludes broadcast.
• To provide a faithful and complete broadcast of the proceedings, no commercial break or any other gap shall be allowed until the day's proceedings are adjourned except during period of recess called by the trial court and during portions of the proceedings where the public is ordered is excluded.
• The proceedings shall be broadcast without any voiceovers except brief annotations of scenes, depicted therein as may be necessary to explain them at the start or at the end of the feeds.
• No repeat airing of the proceedings shall be allowed except after the finality of judgment except brief footages and still images (and) cartographic sketches derived from the recording only for news purposes.

President Benigno Aquino III, in addition, said that they have been advocating for the live coverage of the trial for the public particularly the relatives of the victims who needed to travel all the way from Mindanao to Manila to observe the proceedings. — ARA