Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez reminded media organizations that all candidates would be entitled to the right of reply during the campaign period.
“A candidate can invoke his right to reply anytime… This provides an opportunity for a candidate who feels that he was not given that opportunity to make that known to us and then we will refer that to the (media) network for their answer,” he said in a press briefing.
Jimenez said the recent resolution on the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Fair Elections Act sought to provide candidates, who felt aggrieved by their election rivals by charges published or aired against them, a chance to gain equal access to media.
Section 14 of Comelec Resolution No. 9615 states that “all parties and bona fide candidates shall have the right to reply to charges against them. The reply shall be given publicity by the newspaper, television and/or radio station, which first printed or aired the charges”.
It added that the reply shall be given “same prominence or in the same page or section, or in the same time slot as the first statement.”
Jimenez explained that the move is motivated by the desire of the Comelec to ensure that there will be equal opportunities for all candidates and limit possibilities of bias reporting for or against a particular candidate.
“The Comelec will be the conduit between the candidate and the network. So if the candidate has a grievance, then, we will bring it to the attention of the network,” he said.
But Jimenez allayed the fears raised by some media organizations regarding the issue.
“Please do not think na may sanction na agad ‘yan,” he said. “Wala. Mahaba-haba ang proseso dyan (That will be a long process). And certainly, there are a lot of legal room for the parties to explain both sides.”
Under the rule, the Comelec is tasked to inform the media outlet of a candidate’s complaint within 24 hours. The media entity will then have to send a report to the Comelec within 24 hours on the actions taken on the complaint.
Jimenez assured media that the Comelec would be careful in imposing the rule, adding that both the candidate and the media would be allowed to give their accounts.
“There would be this mechanism by which the candidate would be able to tell us that they feel aggrieved but there’s no guarantee at this point that the solution or the outcome will be as they desire,” explained Jimenez. “We can handle them on a case to case basis.”
On Wednesday, GMA Network Inc. sent a letter to the Comelec seeking for the recall of the right to reply provision in the resolution.
The broadcast network raised fears that because of the provision, they might be swamped with demands for replies from various candidates while they are constricted by limited amount of airtime.
“GMA submits that it should be given leeway by the Commission to determine on its own, which matters are newsworthy enough to air on its programs and not to be burdened with the submission of reports of claims invoking said right to reply,” the company said.
GMA added that imposing the right to reply must be required only by legislation and not just through a resolution of the poll body.