Solon calls for legitimate journo registry to remove fake news
A party-list lawmaker called for the creation of an online registry of legitimate journalists to free the media of the purveyors of fake news.
In a statement on Tuesday, Aangat Tayo Rep. Harlin Abayon III called on the media organizations National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP), and the National Press Club (NPC) to “come up with a detailed, verified, and secure national online registry of working journalists and legitimate news outlets.”
Abayon said the Congress amendment to Republic Act 53 or the Shield Law, which protects journalists from revealing their sources, does not propose such a registry of journalists, which could be a way to differentiate between a legitimate journalist and a fake one.
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“The House and Senate versions did not provide in their bills for that registry of journalists and news outlets. Respecting the independence of the press, I believe building and maintaining that registry is up to the NUJP, KBP, and NPC,” Abayon said.
Abayon said the registry should include journalists in the countryside, and in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao, and that it should be free of “scammers, charlatans, misfits, and purveyors of fake news.”
“I am confident the NUJP, KBP, NPC, and their members will, in good faith, practice self-regulation and adherence to their codes of ethics and practice,” Abayon said.
