Cebu Citizens Press Council

THE Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) was cited in the November 2008 issue of the Philippine Journalism Review (PJR) Reports as being “alive and well.”

During the CCPC’s 13th quarterly meeting held last Dec. 4, 2008, CCPC member Mayette Tabada said the PJR article appeared following the Oct. 26, 2008 consultation among citizens-press councils in the country that CCPC executive director Pachico Seares, assistant to the executive director Cherry Ann Lim and she attended at the AIM Conference Center in Manila.

In that consultation organized by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and the United Nations Democracy Fund, it was learned that the other press councils in the country, namely the Philippine Press Council (in Manila), the Benguet-Baguio Citizens Press Council and the Palawan Citizens Press Council, were all challenged by a combination of the political situation in their areas as well as the fierce competition among the media players that hampered their ability to work together.

Tabada said the latest press council to be formed was the Central Luzon Press
Council, which was organized only last September.

According to Tabada, its modest goals, simple structure, greater representation of public compared to media stakeholders, and the solidarity among the Cebu media were among the factors behind the CCPC’s success.