PPI launches ‘Press Forward’ in CDO, eyes media-citizen council

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — To protect journalists from costly criminal lawsuits while maintaining public accountability, the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) convened media practitioners from across Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions here on Tuesday to lay the groundwork for a regional media-citizen council.

READ: PNP: Voyeurism, online libel cases up last year

Titled “Press Forward: Elevating Accountability, Dispute Resolution, and Navigating the Future of Media,” the seminar-workshop focused on integrating Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) frameworks directly into the news sector to resolve conflicts outside of a full-blown court battle.

Article continues after this advertisement

Relevance of community journalism

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

Speaking at the event, Joenald Medina Rayos, PPI trustee and treasurer, reminded participants that trust is journalism’s most valuable asset.

“It arrives on foot and leaves on horseback. Trust requires consistency. It’s easily lost and difficult to repair,” Rayos, who also serves as the chairman of the Batangas Media-Citizen Council, said.

He said the importance of community journalism lies in its proximity to its news sources, saying: “It is where the big news outlets get the story from the ground.”

Navigating a disrupted narrative

Article continues after this advertisement

Francis Allan Angelo, PPI Trustee and secretary, highlighted the growing alienation between traditional newsrooms and their audiences amid digital upheavals, stressing that structured community engagement is more critical than ever.

“Going around the country under the PPI project of establishing Media-Citizen Councils, I can see that we are in a very interesting, but at the same time, confusing times,” Angelo told the Inquirer at the sidelines of the seminar.

Article continues after this advertisement

He pointed out that while social media has made the media landscape “topsy-turvy,” the fundamental essence of journalism remains anchored in providing the “bigger picture” and deep context during national crises and controversies.

“Now, we feel we (might be) useless and untrusted, but in fact, if you look at it, at moments of great controversies and quandaries, the public always turns to journalists,” Angelo, who also chairs the Iloilo City Media-Citizen Council, added.

Mediation mechanisms

A central pillar of the “Press Forward” campaign is equipping local press communities with mediation mechanisms to protect small newsrooms and freelancers from the chilling effects of litigation.

In the Philippines, a single story can trigger criminal libel or cyberlibel, which carry penalties such as imprisonment of four to eight years and fines of up to P1.2 million under the Revised Penal Code and the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Compounding this is the practice of “venue shopping,” allowing cyberlibel complaints to be filed anywhere the digital post was accessed.

“The process itself is the punishment,” Angelo noted regarding prolonged court battles that drain resources and scorch professional relationships.

The strategy introduced by the PPI relies on a tiered ADR framework meant to catch and resolve disputes at the lowest possible level before they escalate to criminal trials:

Tier 0: Immediate in-house editorial remedies such as corrections, clarifications, or a right of reply.

Tier 1: Media-Citizen Council mediation overseen by self-regulatory bodies.

Tier 2: Barangay conciliation via the Katarungang Pambarangay system if parties reside locally.

Tier 3: Prosecutor-level mediation.

Tier 4: Court-annexed mediation once a civil case has already been formally filed.

A breakthrough for this framework is the Department of Justice (DOJ) Department Circular No. 31, Series of 2023 (NPS Rules on Mediation), which took effect on January 31, 2024. The circular formally allows libel and cyberlibel cases to be mediated at the prosecutor’s desk during the preliminary investigation phase. It is currently being piloted in Manila.

Safeguarding press freedom

Under interest-based mediation models developed from the Harvard Negotiation Project, resolving a media dispute shifts the focus from rigid legal demands (“take it down or I sue”) to underlying interests (“protect my reputation, correct the record”).

According to Angelo, typical settlement “currency” includes non-monetary remedies that cost newsrooms nothing but satisfy an aggrieved party’s core complaints, such as measured apologies, right-of-reply space, targeted text edits, or nominal damages paired with a reciprocal waiver of suit.

However, organizers emphasized that strict legal guardrails must be maintained.

“Under no circumstances can a media-citizen council bargain away a newsroom’s editorial independence, truthful public-interest reporting, the confidentiality of journalistic sources protected under the Sotto/Shield Law, or consent to any form of prior restraint or pre-publication veto,” Angelo told participants.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

By institutionalizing standing Press Mediation Desks within local media-citizen councils, the PPI aims to turn temporary legal reliefs into permanent local infrastructure, striking a balance between swift justice for the public and a protected environment for independent journalism./coa