SC OKs live coverage of Maguindanao massacre verdict

The Supreme Court has allowed live media coverage of the reading of the verdict on the Maguindanao massacre case on December 19, sources said Tuesday.

SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka confirmed the development on Tuesday. Two sources earlier told GMA News Online that the approval was unanimous.

Several news outfits, journalists’ organizations and government communications agencies had requested the court to allow live media coverage of the highly anticipated event to be held at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

Backed by mainstream news outlets, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism said a live coverage would benefit relatives of the massacre victims who could not afford to fly to Manila.

The promulgation of judgment on the multiple murder case against more than a hundred defendants will be the culmination of a 10-year case at the trial court level.

Several Ampatuans and alleged members of their private army were charged for conspiring to kill 58 people, 32 of whom were journalists, on a hill in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao on November 23, 2009.

The incident is known as the Philippines’ worst case of election-related violence and the single deadliest attack on members of the press since detailed records were kept.

At a press briefing, Hosaka said space constraints and security concerns mean only accredited members of the media will be allowed in a designated media room inside the police camp.

Reporters will be able to view the proceedings from a screen in the media room showing live footage taken by state media PTV4, he said. Recording devices other than the PTV4 and the SC's cameras are prohibited inside the courtroom itself.

Official guidelines for the media will be issued at the end of the week, Hosaka said. —KBK, GMA News