JBC urges media to submit proposal for live coverage

Judicial and Bar Council academe member Jose Mejia on Monday urged news organizations to submit proposals for the live coverage guidelines that will govern the media during the panel interviews of the chief justice nominees.

 

“[The JBC] is open to a consultation regarding the media coverage. In fact, I suggest that if you have any proposal that can help smoothen the coverage, I suggest that you submit,” Mejia told reporters in a chance interview after the council’s meeting.

 

“There is nothing that prevents you from submitting them to the JBC,” the council’s academe representative noted, adding that the media coverage guidelines may be released in two weeks.

 

To accommodate media coverage, the council last week deleted a provision in JBC Rule X Section 5, which prohibits media coverage in the panel interviews.

 

JBC ex-officio member Senator Francis Escudero earlier said that the media guidelines were supposed to be released last week. However, this was deferred.

 

Asked on the causes of the delay in the guideline’s release, Mejia said: “It is really the nitty-gritty like ‘yung accreditation, kung ilan yung makakapasok. Basta, ang parati nating sinsabi ang bottom line ay orderliness lang.”

 

He went on to say that they have a rough draft of the guidelines which are “still subject to discussion”.

 

The JBC member reiterated that the council’s accommodation of media coverage is a ‘starting point’ towards transparency.

 

Mejia said that the council will not compel media organizations to cover the entire proceeding. — DVM, GMA News