Press freedom group to solons: Renew CBCP broadcast franchise

An international media watchdog has called on Philippine lawmakers to renew the legislative franchise of Church-run radio stations in the country, which has been pending since it was filed last year.

French-based organization Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters without Borders or RSF) urged the House of Representatives to finally approve the franchise application of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to operate 54 radio stations nationwide.

“We urge Philippine parliamentarians to address the Catholic Media Network application so that this license can finally be renewed,” said Daniel Bastard, head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk, in a statement.

House Bill 4820, the proposed measure which seeks to extend to another 25 years Republic Act 7530 or the broadcast franchise granted to the CBCP, has been pending before the House committee on legislative franchises since it was filed on January 24, 2017. It has yet to be put on agenda by the committee.

RSF has expressed worry that the “refusal” of lawmakers to renew the franchise appears to be “politically motivated” given the Church’s critical stance and reportage against President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs.

“It should be a mere formality, nothing more than a stamp on a four-page document. Given the Catholic Church’s criticism of the Duterte administration, this refusal to renew clearly seems to be politically motivated,” Bastard said.

The group also condemned the online attack against Kodao, an alternative news outfit known for coverages of the government’s peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) and human rights issues.

Kodao’s website was attacked last week after publishing a story on arrested NDF consultant Rafael Baylosis.

“Meanwhile, as Kodao is well known for its uncompromising criticism of the authorities, its suspension also has all the hallmarks of a reprisal against the free press,” Bastard said.

Kodao, which suffered from a “code injection attack” through WordPress, has lost most of its online data and the site has remained inaccessible as of posting.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines meanwhile condemned the cyberattack, saying “that it was part of the Duterte government’s efforts to silence critical media, as seen in the continuing attempt to shut down Rappler, threaten other news outfits, and other voices of dissent.”  /muf