Refer to: Ms. Dale Zapata
83321148
VP
NOLI'S STATEMENT ON MEDIA
26 February 2006
While
we respect the right and power of the President
to protect the people
and the
State from any destabilizing force, the best interest of the greater
number of
Filipinos must be borne in mind.
Safeguarding
the freedom of speech and of the press is primordial to the
preservation of our
democratic way of life.
The President
should define and prescribe reasonable terms to guide
government
agencies acting pursuant to her declaration.
As
Vice President and as part of media, I reiterate my stand that the
government
respect human rights and protect civil liberties, especially, freedom
of the
press.
The
role of media is that of serving as a watchdog for exposing social
injustice
and abuse of power. The government
may do justice to media by
encouraging
self-regulation and not repression. But at the same time, if law
enforcers
believe that a media entity is committing crime against any person or
government, then they must immediately enforce the law.
©
Copyright
2005
Office of the Vice President (OVP)
Management Information Services
Division (MISD). All rights reserved.
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