Police relaxes rules on media’s access to blotters

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) has eased restrictions on the media’s access to its blotters, apparently bowing to public pressure. PNP Chief Dir. Gen. Jesus A. Verzosa on Friday said journalists may now simply ask permission from desk officers instead of station commanders or public information officers before they can see the police blotters. In Memorandum Circular No. 2006-002 titled "Decentralization of the functions of the public information office" and dated Oct. 20, Mr. Verzosa had barred the media and the public from reading the police blotters if they had not secured a court order or a written or verbal permission from station commanders. The directive drew criticism from media organizations and human rights groups such as the National Press Club (NPC) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). Leila De Lima, CHR chairman, said the directive constituted a violation of the people’s right to access to public information as provided by the Constitution. But PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor A. Bartolome justified the directive by saying it was intended "to protect the personalities mentioned in the blotter, particularly those involved in violence against women and children." Malacañang Friday joined the fray over the new rule. "We have asked the PNP to give us a clarification of what this order is all about. The right to information is very basic and blotters are public records, and therefore should be available," Press Sec. Jesus G. Dureza said. Mr. Dureza said that while there are certain situations where entries in the blotter should not be published to protect national security or the privacy of minors, the general rule is that blotter entries should be open to the public. "As to the sensitivity of the information, these will have to yield to existing laws if there are any. Or sometimes we leave this to the sensitivity and the good sense of the media in handling the information," he said. "But to totally clamp down on blotter entries from going to the media is something else, that’s the reason why we have requested a clarification on this." — Elizabeth T. Marcelo and Alexis Douglas B. Romero, BusinessWorld