Cebu Citizens-Press Council

Sept. 21, 2005
Meeting held at Krua Thai, Banilad Town Centre, Cebu City

• Sun.Star Cebu leads the revival of the Cebu Citizens-Press Council, which had been in hibernation for about three years, with a meeting involving the 15 people (members of media, semi-media and the public) invited to become members of the council.
  An election is held and the following officers are elected: Dr. Pureza Oñate, president; Sabino Dapat, vice president; Atty. Jonathan Capanas, secretary; and Fr. Aloysius Cartagenas, treasurer.
• Atty. Pachico Seares, editor-in-chief of Sun.Star Cebu, presents the basic principles of the CCPC, saying a Code of Practice and Rules of Procedure still have to be drawn up.
• Members of the Cebu Federation of Beat Journalists (CFBJ) join the meeting because it is also the pre-assembly lunch of the CFBJ.

Feb. 3, 2006
First quarterly meeting, held at Café Georg, Banilad, Cebu City

• The acting executive director, through Cherry Ann T. Lim, reports that the MBF Cebu Press Center has opened as a receiving center for complaints addressed to the CCPC.
• Pachico Seares presents the CCPC’s Rules of Procedure and Code of Practice for approval by the CCPC en banc. The body approves them.
• A proposal is made to give the CCPC legal personality.
• Philippine Press Institute trustee Juan Mercado presents the ethical issue of the police parading crime suspects before media, asking if it is not a violation of their presumption of innocence. The suggestion is made to form an internal working group to come up with recommendations on this issue for submission to the next CCPC en banc.

June 28, 2006
Second quarterly meeting, held at MBF Cebu Press Center, Lahug, Cebu City

• The acting executive director, through Cherry Ann T. Lim, reports that the CCPC website has been launched at www.cebucitizenspresscouncil.org with Sun.Star managing it.
• The CCPC en banc adopts in principle the committee report on the standards of identifying crime suspects that might be issued as an advisory to Cebu journalists. But the committee (composed of Mayette Tabada, Jerry Tundag and Joy Tumulak) is tasked to meet with the police authorities to get their thoughts on this issue.
• The CCPC en banc expresses support for two bills:

Sept. 21, 2006
Annual and third quarterly meeting, held at MBF Cebu Press Center, Lahug, Cebu City

• The acting executive director, through Cherry Ann T. Lim, reports that:
• Since it is Press Freedom Week, representatives from the Church, business, government, law enforcement, academe and media have been invited, and a presentation is made on how the CCPC model works.
• Mayette Tabada, head of the committee tasked to study the issue of parading suspects before the media, reports on the commitments made by law enforcements following an Aug. 31, 2006 meeting between the committee and the police authorities regarding the proposed standards on describing or identifying crime suspects. After comments made by Monsignor Achilles Dakay and Minerva Newman, OIC of the Philippine Information Agency 7, on why priests, women and children who figure in wrongdoing or are victims of crime should not also be shielded from publicity, the CCPC decides to form a study group to propose standards on the coverage of priests, as well as women and children.
• LENS, the association of news photographers and videographers in Cebu, turns over the “Journalists in Action” photo exhibit—mounted at the MBF Cebu Press Center on the occasion of Cebu Press Freedom Week—to the Cebu News Workers Foundation.
• The convenors of the Cebu Media Legal Aid are introduced: Pachico Seares, Pedro Rosito, Elias Espinoza and Eddie Barrita.

Dec. 5, 2006
Fourth quarterly meeting, held at MBF Cebu Press Center, Lahug, Cebu City

Things reported at the meeting:

• The acting executive director, through Cherry Ann T. Lim, reports that:
• To CCPC members, as well as a group of religious officials invited to the meeting, Mia Embalzado, committee chairperson, presents the committee report on the coverage of religion and religious officials, which was arrived at after consultations with stakeholders. The CCPC en banc then approves the standards.
• Pachico Seares, CCPC acting executive director, proposes an appeal for both media and government to show a greater sense of responsibility during the 12th Asean Summit that Cebu is expected to host later that month.