Palace press corps concerned with denial of reporter's accreditation

The Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) on Monday expressed concern over the denial of the press accreditation application of a reporter in covering President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and all other Palace events.

"The Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) is concerned over the denial of the press accreditation of Hataw reporter Rose Novenario by the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS)," the MPC said in a statement.

"We call on the OPS to clearly state Miss Novenario's alleged violations as well as the circumstances that led to the denial of her accreditation as we need clear cut rules on what is deemed as an unacceptable behavior," it added.

In a Senate briefing, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles explained why the reporter was not accredited. She said that the reporter "insulted" some staff of the OPS.

The Palace official said the reporter appealed the decision denying the accreditation, adding that the incident is already being investigated by their legal department.

"Dito po sa reporter ng Hataw, mayroon po kasi siyang violation, ito po 'yung kaniyang pag-insulto sa ilang mga kasamahan namin sa Office of the Press Secretary, mga opisyales, pero ang ginamit niyang salita ay anti-LGBTQ na salita. Violation po ito ng Safe Spaces Act na kamakailan lang po ipinasa ng ating legislature," Cruz-Angeles said.

(In the issue involving the Hataw reporter, she committed a violation wherein she insulted some of the officials of the Office of the Press Secretary. She used words that are anti-LGBTQ. This was a violation of the Safe Spaces Act.)

"Ngunit hindi pa po tapos ang ating kaso, umapela ang naturang reporter, nasa tanggapan namin. Finorward ko po sa legal kung tama po 'yung kanyang apela. Kung ito po ay tama mabibigyan pa rin siya ng accreditation kung ito ay rasonable," she added.

(The case is not yet finished. The reporter has appealed and it is already in our office. I forwarded it to our legal department to determine if her appeal is legal. If it is reasonable, she can be accredited.)

'Chilling effect'

Novenario's legal counsel, Trojillo Ansaldo Marañon law offices, denied the OPS allegations that their client committed acts unbecoming for name-calling several Palace officials.

It said Novenario was "not sufficiently informed" of the alleged violations and was not given a chance to be heard.

"This outright, baseless and arbitrary denial of IPC accreditation has a chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of speech and of the press," the counsels said.

"It carries a presumption that is it an invalid restraint on free speech and press freedom as it patently constricts her right (as a journalist), to reach out and to  inform the people," they added.

The lawyers said only the Philippine Press Institute can determine whether Novenario has violated the Journalist’s Code of Ethics, not the Office of the Press Secretary.

"We will exhaust all available remedies to uphold Ms. Novenario’s freedom of speech and of the press," the counsels said.

The MPC, meanwhile, called on the OPS to "communicate properly to the MPC the grounds for the denial of accreditation of any of its members," adding that it will continue to hold dialogues with the OPS to raise concerns of other members.

"Ms. Novenario will remain a member of MPC despite the ban and we will continue to exhaust measures to address the issue, taking into account the need to balance the role of journalists to report independently and to ensure proper decorum in the performance of such a duty," the MPC said.—LDF, GMA News