// Journalism awards
The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) is administering the search for the 2nd Sandra Burton Nieman Fellowship sponsored by the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF).
// Media education
Improvements noted
On Feb. 2, 2012—Malacañang has for the first time forwarded a draft Freedom of Information (FOI) bill to the House of Representatives for discussion and possible enactment.
It has been 19 years since the first FOI bill was filed in the House of Representatives. Advocates had expected President Benigno S. Aquino III to make FOI a priority legislation because he had pledged during the 2010 campaign that he would support public access to information.
// Press Freedom
By far the most significant development in the Philippine campaign to decriminalize libel is the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s (UNHRC) October 2011 declaration that the criminal sanction for libel in the Philippines is “excessive” and in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in which the Philippines is a signatory.
// Ethics
Cheers to the Manila Bulletin for a review of a television program promoting awareness of the condition of children with special needs.
// Training
The 2nd Sandra Burton Nieman Fellowship for Filipino Journalists now openThe Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) is administering the search for the 2nd Sandra Burton Nieman Fellowship sponsored by the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF).
// Impunity
Publisher killed in Bohol provinceCMFR/PHILIPPINES – NO SUSPECT has been identified in the 15 December 2011 killing of a local newspaper publisher in Trinidad City, Bohol province. Bohol is a province 640 kilometers south of Manila.
// Statements
Coalition Welcomes People’s Gains in FOIStatement of the RIGHT TO KNOW. RIGHT NOW! COALITION
February 15, 2012
The Right to Know. Right Now! Coalition welcomes the recent public endorsement by President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III of the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) law and the release of the executive’s final proposed bill.
