Webcast of massacre trial set

THE PUBLIC will be able to witness a massacre trial over the Internet upon orders of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, the court said yesterday.

 Mr. Corona, through Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, has directed the court’s Public Information Office (PIO) to set up a live video Webcast of the trial.

Upon setup, the trial can be viewed at http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph.

“With this, the Maguindanao massacre trial will be accessible to viewers worldwide, continuously and without interruption,” a court statement read.

For his part, Mr. Marquez said he has met with the PIO’s technical staff to prepare for the facility.

“With the live Webcast, the objections regarding no commercial breaks or gaps, and continuous broadcast of entire proceedings, will be addressed,” Mr. Marquez said in the statement.

In a decision last week, the court agreed to a live coverage of the trial under the following terms:

• an audiovisual recording (AVR) of the Maguindanao massacre case may be made both for documentary purposes and broadcasting;
• media entities must file with the trial court a letter of application, manifesting that they intend to broadcast the recording;
• no selective or partial coverage and no media entity shall be allowed to broadcast the proceedings without an application approved by the trial court;
• a single fixed compact camera shall be installed inconspicuously inside the court room to provide a single wide-angle full-view of the sala of the trial court;
• no panning and zooming to avoid unduly highlighting or downplaying incidents;
• transmittal of the AVR from the court room to the media entities shall be conducted with the least physical disturbance;
• broadcasting of the proceedings must be continuous and in its entirety;
• no commercial break or any other gap shall be allowed until the day’s proceedings are adjourned, except during the period of recess called by the trial court and during portions of the proceedings wherein the public is ordered excluded;
• proceedings shall be broadcast without any voice-overs, except brief annotations of scenes depicted therein as may be necessary to explain them at the start or at the end of the scene; and
• no repeat airing of the AVR until after the finality of judgment, except brief footages and still images derived from or cartographic sketches of scenes based on the recording, only for news purposes, which shall likewise observe the sub judice rule and be subject to the contempt power of the court.

The court acted on the petition of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and 30 others, and the letter of President Benigno S. C. Aquino III to Mr. Corona for live coverage of the trial.

On Nov. 23, 2009, a total of 58 civilians, including 32 media workers, were killed in Maguindanao in the country’s worst election-related violence.

Also killed were the wife and relatives of Maguindanao Governor Esmael G. Mangudadatu.

Former Maguindanao governor Andal S. Ampatuan, Sr., patriarch of the Ampatuan clan, with his son and namesake former Datu Unsay mayor Andal U. Ampatuan, Jr. and sibling former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy U. Ampatuan, are among 198 suspects charged with multiple murder in the case. – NRM

Source: Business World Online

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