A memorandum of agreement has been sealed by the Public Attorney’s Office and the Presidential Task Force on Media Security primarily aimed at providing legal aid and support services to any media personnel.
The MOA signing between the two agencies would also see the conduct of legal education programs and workshops to the media practitioners in the near future.
”We will soon hold legal training and workshops not only for reporters and broadcasters but also to include editors and even to some vloggers,” PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said.
A former director of the National Press Club, PTFOMS executive director Joe Torres Jr. said the agreement would symbolize the two agencies’ strong commitment to ensuring the safety, rights, and welfare of media workers across the country.
“In this MOA, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to a common goal: the protection, safety and security of media practitioners,” Torres, also a former Philippine Information Agency chief, reiterated.
Under the agreement, PTFOMS will oversee coordination efforts, identify and refer media personnel in need of legal assistance and collaborate with PAO on training programs and policy advocacy.
PAO, for its part, will provide legal aid, legal representation and conduct workshops aimed at empowering media workers with knowledge of their rights.
”I would like to thank PAO chief Acosta and the entire PAO team for their unwavering dedication and steadfast support for press freedom and media safety,” Torres said.
The chief public attorney noted that it’s not the first time her agency has collaborated with PTFOMS wherein it already extended numerous legal services to several media workers in the past.
She appealed to those who may have disputes or misunderstandings with the media practitioners, particularly politicians, to not harm, or worse, kill them but instead sue them in court.
She stressed that the freedom of the press and of expression is the bastion of democracy.
“Without the media, we have no democracy. Democracy is by the people, for the people, and of the people,” she emphasized.
Top PAO officials – Deputy Chief Erwin Erfe, Deputy Chief Ana Lisa Soriano and PAO-National Capital Region director and Executive Support Staff head Revelyn Ramos-Dacpano – were also MOA signatories.
Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Beda Epres and NPC president Boying Abasola witnessed the event.
Epres hailed the duo’s partnership as he vowed that the CHR would work alongside them in “ensuring that justice is not only accessible but actively working in defense of those who defend the truth.”
