Chiz to review right to reply bill
SETS SERIES OF MEDIA CONSULTATIONS

Sen. Chiz Escudero said on Monday he will review the right to reply bill before it goes to the bicameral committee for final deliberation.

Speaking before members of the Samahang Plaridel, an association of veteran newsmen, Escudero stressed the need to continue consulting with various media organizations and practitioners who have raised serious opposition to the said bill.

Senate Bill No. 2150 was principally sponsored by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel and taken up in the Committee on Public Information headed by Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla.

The vote for the bill was unanimously passed in the Senate on third reading.

It seeks to grant all persons the right to reply to the charges printed in publications and/or broadcast over radio, television, websites and other electronic device. "There is a need for further discussion so all concerns can be deliberated upon. Had this bill gone through the legislature without any fanfare, it would have quietly been passed into law. Personally, I don't believe the issue should be addressed by a law, but by self-regulation," Escudero said.

He explained that when the bill was just being deliberated upon in the Senate, there was no expression of serious reservations from the media.

Samahang Plaridel and other media groups, however, clarified that they were never invited to present their side on the proposed bill.