Anti-intrusion bill alarms photojournalists

SAN PEDRO CITY, Philippines—Veteran documentary and street photographers based outside Metro Manila have joined calls to scrap a measure that, if passed by Congress, would hold photographers and videographers liable for a work published without the permission of the subject photographed or filmed.

“[The bill] wouldn’t affect us senior photographers that much. But it has been a topic of discourse among [the younger photographers], and you can easily see the fear in the photography community,” said Alex Baluyut, 58.

To Sonny Yabao, 70, the measure “is only meant to protect [government officials’] loot.”

Unconstitutional

Yabao said the bill would violate a right clearly enshrined in the Constitution which states that no law shall be passed that shall abridge the freedom of speech or expression.

Baluyut and Yabao, both pillars of Philippine documentary photography, are based in Los Baños, Laguna. They were interviewed by the Inquirer separately by phone on Sunday.

According to the website of the House of Representatives, House Bill No. 4807, also known as the Protection against Personal Intrusion Act, “shall promote and protect the personal privacy of every person by preventing intrusion for commercial purposes, and enjoining everyone to respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of every person.”

It also makes it a criminal offense to trespass on private property in order to capture images of any individual or property.

Those opposed to its passage have also referred to the bill as “antiselfie,”since it effectively bans taking “selfies”or snapshots of oneself, usually using cell phone cameras, with public figures.

The bill, authored by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and his brother, Abante Mindanao party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez Jr., is up for third reading.

Ironic haste

Yabao found it ironic the bill made it to the plenary ahead of the pending freedom of information bill, which mandates full disclosure of government documents and transactions to the public.

“What if the person [being photographed] is of highest national interest? If there’s fear among photographers, that would hamper them from doing their job. Whose loss would it be [if a photograph was not taken]? It’s the public’s,” Baluyut said.

Baluyut said the measure would also affect the art of street photography, which “thrives on taking pictures in public.”

Trained, sensitive

Baluyut, who gives documentary photography workshops, trusts that photojournalists are “trained and sensitive enough so as not to step over ethical boundaries.” An example he gave was documenting poor communities or putting out “gory”images of crime victims.

Such a bill, however, is not necessary to address ethical dilemmas, he said.

Groups of photographers, among them, the Photojournalists Center of the Philippines, are rallying behind a “protest photo walk”on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Batasang Pambansa to express their opposition to the bill.

“Maybe later, we can do the same (protest photo walk) here (in the provinces),” Baluyut said.