Uson wants Rappler out of Malacañang Press Corps and under social media

Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson during the committee hearing on fake news at the Senate in Pasay City on Oct. 4, 2017. (File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson on Tuesday asked Communications Secretary Martin Andanar to remove Rappler as a member of the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC).

Rappler, an online news organization, is an accredited member of the MPC.

“I respectfully request that Rappler be reclassified and moved from Malacañang Press Corps to Social Media,” Uson said in a one-page letter to Andanar.

A copy of her letter was published on his Facebook page.

Uson, an assistant secretary for social media, wanted Rappler to be under her office and be removed from MPC because it has no print or broadcast arm.

“This should fall under the rules of accreditation administered by my office,” she said.

Those who want to apply members of the MPC undergo a process of accreditation through the MPC.

Rappler replies

In a statement released to the media, Rappler said Uson’s request was misplaced based on three points:

1) Rappler is an independent private media company. Because the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press (Art. III, Section 4), government does not have the power to regulate independent media.

2) The Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) is an independent group unattached to any government agency and is not under government control nor the supervision of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).

MPC by-laws are explicit on accreditation and cover online news organizations like Rappler.

Section 2 under “Qualifications for MPC Membership” states: “For internet-based media, the reporter must represent a website affiliated with a duly-recognized print/radio/TV agency, or established online news organization with regular deployment of personnel in major beats.”

3) The PCOO’s Interim Social Media Practitioner Accreditation covers only individuals and not news organizations.

Section 5 of the PCOO’s Department Order 15 is categorical: “Social Media accreditation shall be issued to a Filipino Citizen who is at least eighteen (18) years of age, with not less than five thousand (5,000) followers in any social media platform.”

“This clearly does not cover Rappler, Inc., which is a registered media corporation,” Rappler said. /atm