KBP exec eyes 1-month period to hear Rogas-Tulfo ethics case

At least two broadcasters and their mother radio station may face fines and censures from the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) after they were singled out by a government probe panel for violating media ethics in their live coverage of the Aug. 23 Manila hostage tragedy. KBP spokesman lawyer Rudolph Jularbal disclosed this even as he said the KBP may need a month to hear the case of Michael Rogas and Erwin Tulfo, the key pointmen of broadcast network Radyo Mo Nationwide (RMN) in the live coverage of the hostage crisis. "Meron, sa tingin ko may violation sa Code. [Ang kaparusahan], fine and censure. Wala naman tayong imprisonment at di natin magawa yan. But [for] the broadcasters concerned as well as the network, ang penalty [ay] fine and censure," Jularbal said in an interview on RMN's dzXL radio. (Yes, I think there was a violation of the KBP Code of Ethics. The penalty is fine and censure. We do not have a provision for imprisonment, so we can’t do that. But for the broadcasters concerned as well as the network, the penalty is a fine and censure.) While he did not elaborate, he said the maximum fine for a "first offense" is P15,000. He said the penalties may be higher for television networks or personnel found violating the KBP Code of Ethics. Jularbal also said it is good that Malacañang ultimately referred the matter of RMN, Rogas and Tulfo to the KBP instead of ordering criminal charges against them. "Yan ay maganda dahil na-recognize uli ang self-regulation within the broadcast industry," he said. (It’s good that the self-regulation within the broadcast industry was recognized anew.) Rogas and Tulfo were cited in the final report of Malacañang for supposedly interfering in negotiations for the release of hostages taken by dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza. In making public the contents of the final report Monday, President Benigno Aquino III also said Rogas and Tulfo’s actions were “irresponsible bordering on the criminal." But RMN remained defiant, insisting it was doing its job to inform the public. KBP probe For now, Jularbal said the KBP's Standards Authority has initiated an investigation on Rogas, Tulfo and RMN. He said the Standards Authority issued a "show-cause order" to the parties concerned last week, and may take a month to resolve the issue. "Usually ang proseso niyan isang buwan depende sa availability ng tao," he said. (Usually the process takes a month, depending on the availability of those involved.) On the other hand, he said the KBP had reviewed together with broadcast networks the guidelines on coverage of crisis situations.—JV, GMANews.TV