Media Leaders Opposed Amending Anti-Indecency Ordinance

Cebu media leaders are strongly opposing to the proposed amendments on the existing Anti-Indecency Ordinance of Cebu City giving extra power to the members of the City Anti-Indecency Board (CAIB) to confiscate reading materials which they described as obscene and lewd.

The officials of the Cebu Citizens’ Press Council (CCPC) and the Cebu Media Legal Aid had passed a joint resolution condemning the proposal of Councilor Lea Ouano-Japson to amend City Ordinance 1408 or the Anti-Indecency Ordinance which they said “unconstitutional.”

The Cebu Citizens’ Press Council is composed of representatives from the three major newspapers in Cebu City and other veteran journalists, while the Cebu Media Legal Aid is also composed of lawyers who are also journalists.

They described the proposal of Councilor Japson as deliberately abridging the freedom of expression.

During the meeting of the Cebu Citizens’ Press Council last week, it was agreed that the group will be sending its position paper and will give its stand during the public hearing of the proposed ordinance at the Cebu City Council on October 8.

The CCPC officials said that last year they successfully prevented the Provincial Board from passing the so called “Anti-Tabloid Ordinance,” that, if approved, will empower the governor to seize any materials or publication deemed indecent even without court orders.

According to the senior journalists that the same contents of the ‘dead’ ordinance can be found in Japson’s proposed amendments to Ordinance 1408.

Japson’s proposed amendments will give the Cebu City Anti-Indecency Board more ‘teeth’ by adding sections to the ordinance that includes giving them authority to conduct frequent inspections and investigations in all bookstores, magazine shops, newspaper stands, among others.

The amendments will also compel the owners, managers or promoters to give full and unconditional access to the board to conduct inspections of their establishments at any time of the day or night even without any prior court order.

The lady city legislator also wants to expand the list on what she calls “unlawful acts” to include: selling of magazines which contain sensual sexual stories/columns; selling of tabloids which contain lewd pictures or titillating stories/columns.

It was provided that printed circulation of obscene pictures, films, books, sex toys, shall be confiscated and used as evidence against violators.

As a result, the additional sections and powers will automatically give the board authority to determine what is obscene and what is not.

The CCPC claimed that such proposed amendments violate the rights to due process of the person or business establishments in question, a right that is guaranteed under the Philippine Constitution.

Lawyer Elias Espinosa of CEMLA said the Cebu media is not totally against legislations and campaigns against obscenities and indecencies, provided that the rights of freedom of expression and the freedom of speech are not violated.