A senior Philippine lawmaker is urging the Senate to pass a bill that would protect and advance the welfare of Filipino journalists and other media professionals. The bill, which has already been approved by the House of Representatives, aims to provide journalists with financial benefits and improve working conditions. The lawmaker also addressed allegations of press freedom suppression and defended his stance on supporting media workers.
A senior lawmaker urged the Senat e on Wednesday to enact a bill that has been approved by the House of Representatives, which would protect and advance the welfare of Filipino journalists and other media professionals. The bill aims to provide them with the financial benefits they are entitled to and improve the conditions that allow them to work in a safe, effective, and unrestricted manner. Graduating Camarines Sur Rep.
Luis Raymund Villafuerte stressed his support for House Bill 454, which he co-authored and which the House passed in November 2022. This bill provides journalists with benefits like security of tenure, hazard pay, night shift differential, and overtime pay, recognizing the risks they face. Villafuerte emphasized the need to address the often-overlooked labor rights of media workers. He said, 'It is unfortunate that media workers are usually the ones whose labor rights are ignored, hence the need to institutionalize for them a package of comprehensive benefits at par with the current benefits enjoyed by those in the labor force in both the government and the private sector.' Villafuerte, who is on his third three-year term at the House, added, 'It seems far-fetched for me to take any action, as claimed by certain groups, that would undermine press freedom or campus journalism, given that this runs counter to my longtime advocacy for safeguarding press freedom and advancing the welfare of journalists and other members of the media.' Villafuerte also issued this statement in dismissing the allegation that he was behind the takedown of a report in The Spark—the official student publication of the Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges (CSPC) in his province—about a mock election whose results supposedly showed that the outgoing three-term congressman, and three-term governor previously, was trailing his rival in the race for the gubernatorial seat in the May 12 elections. He acknowledged the right of student publications to report on developments, including survey results, but also asserted his right to question the accuracy of such reports, especially those concerning him. He expressed concern about the methodology of the survey and the possibility of student researchers being manipulated for political purposes. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and local student groups supported The Spark and called on colleagues in the province and the rest of the region to stand with the campus press on this issue. 'In keeping with my advocacy for upholding press freedom and the independence of campus journalism, I recognize the right of student publications to report on developments, including the outcome of local surveys that are conducted with the proper methodology,' Villafuerte said. 'But while I acknowledge such rights of professional and campus journalists, I also have the right to question certain reportage or the presentation of news, such as on the outcome of locally done opinion polling, and I certainly hope that they would similarly recognize my right to respond to such reports, particularly those that concern me and my family,' Villafuerte said.
JOURNALISTS LABOR RIGHTS PHILIPPINES SENAT PRESS FREEDOM MEDIA WORKERS
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