BAGUIO CITY –
Following assaults on media workers like the recent killing of a radio
broadcaster,Presidential Task Force on Media Security Executive Director Joel
Sy Egco said security issues of media must be addressed.
He said this
involved improving their living conditions without resorting to "regulation"
or "accreditation" which, he said, are both "wrong."
Egco cited
need to strengthen the industry and remove danger media workers face.
In sharing
his views on "labor issues" besetting the media, Egco said his desire
as a former media leader himself is to give dignity to the profession by
strengthening the industry and addressing vulnerabilities.
“Ayaw
ko ng regulation, mediaman din ako eh (I am also a mediaman, I
do not want regulation),” he categorically said in a brief talk with reporters
during the PTFoMS “Seminar on the implementation of operational guidelines of
Administrative Order 1.”
AO 1,
which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Oct. 11, 2016, created the
PTFoMS to address violations of the right to life, liberty and security of the
members of the media.
Egco
rose from the ranks as a cub reporter to becoming assignments editor and chief
of reporters of The Manila Times.
Prior
to joining the government, he was president of the National Press Club.
"How
do we address those vulnerabilities para patibayin
yung industry. Hindi para alisin yung mga tao pero para patibayin,
lagyan mo ng dignidad yung profession (How do we address those
vulnerabilities so that we can strengthen the industry? Not to remove or terminate
people, but to dignify the profession)," Egco reiterated.
During the
interview, one Baguio reporter noted that the issue on salaries and wages that
media practitioners receive may make them susceptible to “corruption” and
“politics” which may endanger themselves.
Egco cited an
old bill in Congress, the Magna Carta for Journalists, which never prospered
for reportedly being unacceptable.
“Dati
may Magna Carta for journalists, tinurn-down natin.
Why? Walang nakasaad kung magkano ang sweldo. Nire-regulate [ang
industriya], ayaw ko din yun (Before there was a Magna Carta for
journalists which we turned down because it did not mention the salaries.
Regulating, I don’t want that too),” he added.
“Hindi mo
pwedeng sabihin kung sino lang mag-practice, accredit or not accredit. (You cannot
dictate who can practice, accredit or not accredit.) That's wrong!," he
said.
Learning from
past failures where "regulation" was used to professionalize the
media, Egco said he will propose to media experts and other partners in the
industry a "classifying examination" to evaluate the wages and
benefits package commensurate to the experience and skills level of the media
worker.
The
"evaluation" may be done bi-annually so that there would be enough
time for training before retaking the said test until a media worker has
attained the highest skill certification.
He said there
will be no passers or flunkers since all takers would be deemed qualified.
"Wala
namang bagsak sa test eh pero makikita ang skills mo,
made-define na natin yung mga benefits at saka classification.
That’s professionalizing our ranks (There will be no failing grade, but the
exam will show your skills and will define your benefits and classification),”
Egco said.
He likened it
to the salary grade of those in government where a skill has an equivalent
position that determines salary grades.
"Walang
babagsak sa exam, ika-classify ka lang (to determine what
package of benefits is commensurate). Ganun lang naman yun, malalaman mo
kung saan ka nararapat (You will know where you should be)," Egco
added.
He said he
envisions "all journalists in the Philippines to be of high, world-class
standards.”
Egco noted
that media work is not an “8 to 5” job, and that it should be rated at par with
the level of professionals like doctors and lawyers.
When asked if
the plan would be effective in addressing the issue of fly-by-night or
"hao-shiao" media, Egco replied: “Yung mga hao-shiao, yung sinasabing
pinabili lang ng suka, mawawala na yun pero may mga hao-shiao na kukuha
ng exam, hindi mo mapagbawal yan. Kung pumasa, eh hindi na siya
hao-shiao (The ‘hao-shiao’, who are referred to as those sent to buy
vinegar and immediately became media practitioners, will no longer exist as
they too can take the exam without prohibition to classify them and remove the
hao-shiao tag).” -- PNA
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