OPS denies Hataw reporter’s accreditation over anti-LGBTQ remarks

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles. INQUIRER FILES

UPDATED MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) has turned down the accreditation of a tabloid reporter to cover presidential events and explained it was because the person uttered anti-LGBTQ remarks.

During the hearing of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles claimed the reporter of tabloid Hataw violated the Safe Spaces Act, thus, the denial of the reporter’s accreditation.

“Dito sa reporter ng Hataw, mayroon kasi syang violation. Ito ay ‘yung kanyang pag-insulto sa ilang mga kasamahan namin sa OPS, mga opisyales, pero ang ginamit niya na salita ay anti-LGBTQ na salita. Violation ito ng Safe Spaces Act na kamakailan lang pinasa ng ating legislature,” she said.

(The reporter committed a violation. The reporter insulted some of our colleagues in OPS, officials, but the words the reporter used were anti-LGBTQ remarks. This is a violation of the Safe Spaces Act which the legislature passed recently.)

“According to them [officials], inirereklamo niya [reporter] supposedly ‘yung actions ng ating undersecretary or assistant secretary at tinawag silang ‘itong mga baklang ito’, among other things,” Cruz-Angeles added.

(According to the officials, the reporter was supposedly complaining about the actions of our undersecretary or assistant secretary and they were called “this gay people,” among other things.)

Cruz-Angeles, however, said the case of the reporter is still open as there is an ongoing appeal, and it is in the hands of Malacañang’s legal affairs.

“Kung ito ay tama, mabibigyan pa rin siya ng accreditation kung ito ay rasonable,” she said.

(If this is right, the reporter will still be granted accreditation if the appeal is reasonable.)

She explained that among the basic standards for accreditation set by the OPS is compliance with the law.

The Palace official said Malacañang may reinstate or completely revoke the reporter’s accreditation based on the findings of its legal affairs on whether the Safe Spaces Act was violated or not.

“Kung saka-sakaling lumabag sa Safe Spaces Act ‘yung naturang reporter, then hindi namin siya maaaring bigyan ng puwang doon sa aming opisina,” Cruz-Angeles said.

(Should the reporter be found to have violated the Safe Spaces Act, then we will not give the reporter space in our office.)

“Gayunpaman, dahil sumusunod kami sa proseso, sinseryoso namin ‘yung kanyang apela. Sinusuri ito ng ating legal, kung saka sakaling rasonable naman ang kanyang request at kami ang nasa mali, marereinstate siya,” she added.

(Nevertheless, since we are following the proper procedure, we are taking seriously the reporter’s appeal. This is being studied by our legal, and if we are wrong, the accreditation will be reinstated.)

Hataw, through its lawyers, have denied the allegations against its reporter Rose Novenario, adding that the reporter’s constitutional right to due process.

“We strongly deny allegations of such nature. In fact, there was a violation of Ms. Novenario’s constitutional right to due process when she was not sufficiently informed of these alleged violations and was not given a chance to be heard,” Trojillio Ansaldo Marañon law offices said in a statement.

Hataw’s lawyer dubbed Novenario’s denial for accreditation as “baseless and arbitrary,” adding that this has a “chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of speech and of the press.”

“It carries a presumption that is it is 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,” it said.

Hataw’s lawyer said only the Philippine Press Institute can determine whether its reporter Novenario has violated the Journalist’s Code of Ethics, and not the Office of the Press Secretary.

It added that issuances recognizing the International Press Center did not provide for grounds when can the press or journalists be denied access to events within and without Malacañang Palace.

“The so-called accreditation is just a disguise for discriminatory banning of the press or journalists from events participated by the Chief Executive,” Hataw’s lawyer said.

“We will exhaust all available remedies to uphold Ms. Novenario’s freedom of speech and of the press,” it added.

For its part, the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) expressed concern over the denial of accreditation of Hataw reporter Rose Novenario.

“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,” the MPC said in a statement.

“This will ensure that future decisions related to access to the Palace and the President will be reasonable and not arbitrary,” it added.

The MPC likewise urged the OPS to “communicate properly” the grounds for the denial of accreditation of any MPC members.

It added that Novenario will remain a member of the MPC despite the denial of accreditation by the OPS.

“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,” it said.

“We will continue to hold dialogues with the OPS to raise the concerns of our members,” the MPC added.

This is not the first time Malacañang has barred a reporter from covering the sitting President.

In 2018, under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Rappler reporter Pia Ranada was initially barred from entering Malacañang to cover the President and later restricted to a designated area in the wake of complaints from top officials that the news website supposedly published “fake news.”

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