De Lima wants campus journalists protected from harassment, intimidation

Detained Senator Leila de Lima filed a measure seeking to guarantee the editorial independence of campus journalists and protect them from harassment and intimidation.

De Lima filed Senate Bill 1868 which seeks to repeal Republic Act 7079 or the Campus Journalism Act of 1991 “for its serious flaws and deficiencies in promoting the growth and development of campus journalism across the country.”

“By repealing the present law, and replacing it with a law that genuinely upholds campus press freedom, we can once again reclaim campus journalism as it once were – an unbiased, untainted avenue of self-expression, critical and creative thinking, and a beacon of nationalism and democracy,” she said in a statement on Sunday.

She said SB 1868 also seeks to provide student journalists with a consistent and reliable source of funds, in-depth training, and the freedom to. determine the content of their publications.

“Despite constitutionally-guaranteed rights to free speech and expression, it is simply preposterous and disheartening that campus press freedom violations exist,” she said.

The opposition senator pushed for the passage of the bill after the San Beda University reportedly blocked the release of “The Bedan Roar,” the official student publication of the university’s senior high school, for being critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.

“The students of ‘The Bedan Roar’ did what any true Bedan would do. Nay, what a true Filipino patriot would do. They called out the threat of a tyrant. They let him know they are here and that they will not stand for his abuses,” she said in her dispatch.

She also noted that some student journalists experience harassment and intimidation from their own school when they oppose its programs and policies.

“The campus press is expected to uphold the interest of the students and the Filipino people, such as the incessant and unabated tuition and other fee increases, repressive student policies, human rights violations, disregard for national sovereignty, corruption in government, and various assaults to the rights of the people,” she said.

“It is therefore unsurprising to find student journalists in conflict with institutions who use their authority to quell free speech and expression. Throughout history, many student editors and writers have been persecuted,” she added.   /vvp