But advocates versus “anti-selfie” bill still wary
By Cong B. Corrales
THE WAY it stands, shutterbugs and freedom of expression advocates have won this round against the controversial “anti-selfie” bill.
Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez told the PCIJ that he had already withdrawn his support for House Bill 4807 or “An Act to Provide Protection From Personal Intrusion for Commercial Purposes.”
“That bill is no more; I’m not pushing through with it anymore, we will not take that up in the third reading (in the plenary),” Rodriguez said.
CONGRESSMAN Rufus Rodriguez during the signing by President Benigno S. Aquino III of Republic Act No. 10349 or the New AFP Modernization Act at the Rizal Hall, Malacañan Palace last December 11, 2012 | Photo by: Lauro Montellano, Jr. / Malacañang Photo Bureau
HB 4807, according to the bill’s explanatory note, “aims to promote and protect the personal privacy of every person by preventing intrusion for commercial purposes, and enjoining everyone to respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of every person.
It will be “unlawful to capture, or to trespass on private property in order to capture, any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression of any individual, personal or family activity for commercial purposes and even if no physical trespass has occurred,” once the bill is passed into law.
The bill was originally filed by Rodriguez and his brother, Maximo, Abante Mindanao partylist representative, December 10 last year.
House Bill 03458, which we have uploaded on Scribd, is the original bill proposed by the Rodriguezes and was subsequently substituted by HB 4807.
When it was approved in the second reading in the Lower House last August 12, the bill listed the following as co-authors: Cebu 3rd District Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia, Buhay partylist Rep. Jose Atienza, Bulacan 4th District Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica, Pangasinan 2nd District Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, and Misamis Occidental 1st district Rep. Jorge Almonte, who also chairs the committee on public information .
Rodriguez said his bill was misconstrued as “anti-selfie” but he has decided to withdraw it nevertheless from the plenary so it could be studied further at the committee level.
“I have asked the secretariat to invite (the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and other groups who have expressed opposition to the bill so that it will be discussed in the committee,” he said.
CAMPAIGN POSTER of the PCP against HB 4807.
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) chairperson Rowena Paraan welcomed Rodriguez’ decision to withdraw his support but also enjoined journalists to continue monitoring bills that could affect the people’s right to free expression.
“It is good that the good congressman has seen the light. It should serve as a lesson to journalists to monitor closely the bills being churned out in the legislative mill so that nothing like this – a bill that tramples on the right to free expression – escapes public attention again,” Paraan said.
The NUJP has opposed the bill because the “measure’s intent is so broad it is likely to be used as another weapon for the criminal and the corrupt to escape accountability and that the measure “could end up stifling citizen journalism and even simply taking pictures or videos for personal pleasure.”
“In an era where technology is quickly breaking down the obstacles that hamper the flow of information and expression, which are the bedrock of democracy, HB 4807 could return us to the dark ages and worse, be used as a weapon of suppression and repression,” the NUJP statement on HB 4807 reads.
PHOTOJOURNALISTS on the field | Photo by Cong B. Corrales
While Rodriguez’ withdrawal of support to his own bill is a “good development,” Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines (PCP) chairman Mike Alquinto said their planned mobilization at the South Gate of the House of Representatives on Tuesday will still push through.
“Even if he withdrew support, any lawmaker can still activate it in the future since it will still be pending in the Committee on Public Information,”Alquino said as he pointed out that their protest is not only against the bill but also for the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill.
“We invite Rodriguez to meet us at the rally to formally state his withdrawal of support to the bill and state his moves to convince the committee (on public information) to scrap the bill with finality,” Alquinto added.
In their statement, PCP reiterated that the right to privacy is already guaranteed in the Constitution and that HB 4807 could become a tool for “unwilling public figures” to suppress press freedom.”
HOUSE BILL 4807 is no longer in the online records of the House of Representatives | Screengrab from 16h Congress website
For his part, NUJP Cagayan de Oro chair Froilan Gallardo said that the local media community was dishearted that Rodriguez did not consult them first before filing the bill.
“He should have consulted his constituents; he is not a senator, he is our district representative and he should have talked with his neighbors first. He should go back to his roots,” Gallardo said.
Gallardo, who is also vice president for print of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club, said that they have approved a board resolution asking Rodriguez to withdraw the bill from Congress.
“He should withdraw the bill entirely and not just revert it back to the committee level. He owes it to the people, more importantly to his neighbors here,” he said.
He added that they are organizing a broad alliance of freedom of expression advocates in Cagayan de Oro which will fight to scrap Rodriguez’ bill for good.