A PANEL in the House of Representatives has passed a measure declaring Aug. 30 of every year as “Marcelo H. Del Pilar National Press Freedom Day.”
The House committee on public information, chaired by Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy of Bagong Henerasyon party-list, approved House Bill 3702 authored by Rep. Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado of Bulacan.
In passing the bill, Herrera-Dy said Congress recognized the vital role of the press in nation building and aims to raise public awareness about press freedom.
Meanwhile, an undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government is suing a Rappler reporter over a series of reports about DILG officials and employees asking President Rodrigo Duterte to sack him.
DILG Undersecretary John Castriciones filed a libel complaint with the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office against Rappler’s Rambo Talabong over the following reports:
DILG officials, employees urge Duterte to fire three undersecretaries; three DILG undersecretaries ‘floating’ since April; DILG asks Malacañang to decide fate of three ‘floating’ execs soon.
Castriciones was among three undersecretaries whom DILG officials and employees asked Duterte to fire. They sent a letter to the President, signed by “Concerned employees” of the DILG.
The Sy-Alvarado bill seeks to encourage members of the press to report matters of public interest regardless of the entities or persons that may be offended in the process.
The holiday also honors Marcelo H. del Pilar, recognizing him as the father of Philippine journalism. Del Pilar was a key figure during the struggle against Spanish occupation, and one of the leaders of the Philippine Propaganda Movement.
He became the editor-in-chief of La Solidaridad, the newspaper of Filipino propagandists who pushed for the Philippines to become a province of Spain and afford the citizens the same rights with those in the mainland.
“He is a national hero worthy of emulation for his patriotism, bravery and intelligence as exemplified by his works as a lawyer, as a revolutionary and as a propagandist,” said Sy-Alvarado.
Sy-Alvarado said dedicating August 30, Del Pilar’s date of birth, to national press freedom showed the world that the country recognized and respected freedom of the press, as enshrined in Section 4, Article III (Bill of Rights) of the Philippine Constitution.
This includes the right to speak and write, and the right to be protected from threats, intimidation and violence.
The bill originally declared August 30 as Marcelo H. Del Pilar National Responsible Press Freedom Day.
Upon further fine-tuning, the committee voted to omit the qualifier “responsible.”