PCO to revise newly-released accreditation guidelines

MANILA, Philippines — The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) will revise its recently released new guidelines for reporters covering Malacañang and the President.

This came after PCO officials and officers of the Malacañang Press Corps Inc. (MPC) held a meeting on Monday to discuss some provisions in the guidelines that appeared to limit newsrooms’ autonomy in assigning reporters to the beat.

READ: SC rules media accreditation guidelines must not infringe free speech

One of these is the requirement that reporters must have at least five years of experience covering politics.

During the meeting, MPC officers also raised the need to clarify vague terms in the guidelines, such as “false reporting,” which is cited as one of the grounds for the revocation of a reporter’s accreditation.

In a statement released after the meeting, MPC officers said that, “PCO officials led by Secretary Jay Ruiz were open to the suggestions of the MPC, but maintained that stricter accreditation rules are needed because of the nature of Malacañang as a prime beat.”

The two sides agreed to work together to achieve a middle ground that will ensure the efficiency and integrity of the accreditation process while preserving the autonomy of Palace reporters.

The statement also said that PCO officials asked MPC officers to submit a position letter by Friday so the PCO could craft a clearer and more acceptable set of guidelines.

“Pending the revision of its guidelines, the PCO agreed to defer the submission period of the accreditation requirements, which was supposed to take place from April 29 to May 2,” the statement read.

“The MPC will continue to vigorously promote the interests of its members, contribute to the strengthening of self-regulation among media groups and stand by efforts promoting independent, critical and ethical reporting,” it also said.