THE NATION'S I.
EAIIING NEWSPAFEN
Law protecting sources of news expanded
President Duterte has signed Re-
public Act 11458 expanding the cover-
age o{ the Sotto law whici exemPts
journalists from being compelled to re-
Law protect1ng...
RA 53 of 1946 6otto Law) now
includes members of broadcast
and online news in its cover-
age.
The law covers anyPublish-
er; owner; or dulY recognized
or accredited journalist, wfi ter,
reportet contributor, oPin-
ion writer, editor, columnist;
manager; media practitioner
involved in the writing editing'
production, and dissemination
ofnews for mass circulation of
any print, broadcast, wire ser-
vice organization, or electronic
mass media including cable Tv
and its variants.
They are, however required
to reveal their sources if the
court, or the House of ReP-
resentatives, or the Senate
finds that such revelation is
demanded by the security of
the State.
RA 1145B is a consolidation
of Senate Bill 1255 authored
by Senate President Vicente
Sotto III and Senator Antonio
Ttillanes IV and House Bill684
authored by Cebu CitY Repre-
sentative Raul del Mar.
The law wilt take effect
15 days after its Publication
in at least two newspapers of
hational circulation.
Right to information
Senate President Vicente
Sotto III, whose great grandfa-
thef Vicente Sotto authored the
RA No. 53, thanked President
Duterte for signing the law.
"I am grateful to President
Duterte for recoghizing the
importance of this measure'"
the Senate chief said in a state-
ment.
Sotto said thatDuterte's aP-
proval of the RA 11458, "is Proof
\' Trznar PAqe t'
Thursday,
veal the source of information obtained
in confidence.
In addition to print journal- -)Z
i"r*, ira r r+sC wnicn amenoeo
<1
that this government will never
waver lrom its resPonsibilitY to
protect journalists lrom legal
and securiw threats."
"The Philippine media wi
always thrive in the freedoms
that our forefathers have
sought and successfully won
to ensure democracY in our
country Our Constitution and
our laws ensure that the right
of the public to fair, accurate
and reliable information will
never be trampled upon, and
that constitutional Privileges
enjoyed by members of the
-media-industry will always be
recognized and resPected," he
also assured.
Senator Grace Poe, who
sponsored the Senate's version
of the law as Senate Commit-
tee on Public Information and
Mass Media chairman in the
1?th Congress, also ryelcomed
the development.
"We hail the signing of this
new law. This is a legislation
whose time has not only come,
but is well past its due. Source
protection should extend to
all members of the media and
across all platforms," Poe said
in a separate statement.
Poe said the enactment of
the RA 11458 wilt strengthen
press freedom and the Public's
right to information.
"The freedom ol the Press
and the right of the Public to
know are fortified when the
media is able to gather and
report news unimPaired and
unafraid. Several times, anonY-
mous sources Played the key
to uncovering anomalies and
corruption, making wrongdo-
ers accountable," she said.