Fair, relevantReporting the Corona Trial
Media’s independent investigation
Some enterprising media groups and journalists published stories on the impeachment trial using independent sources and by following the paper-trail.
In Medias Res:
“Unchilled and unchastened” by Vergel O. Santos
“Media and leaks” by Melinda Quintos de Jesus
“Corona’s cheek” by Melinda Quintos de Jesus
“Moment of truth” by Vergel O. Santos
“The human thing” by Luis V. Teodoro
“Making up the rules” by Luis V. Teodoro
Even before the trial started, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, for example, was already doing stories on SALN and its significance.
Journalist Raissa Robles also released several reports on Corona which provided background and breaking stories. (“Corona Impeachment Trial – My Stories”)
The press was quick to point out the inconsistencies in Corona’s statements both in and out of the impeachment court. Rappler.com noted six contradictions in Corona’s explanation of his and family’s way of life, bank accounts, and interest in BGEI. (“6 inconsistencies in Corona’s testimony”, May 25)
Because of these journalists’ in-depth reports, both the prosecution and the defense asked the Senate Impeachment Court to subpoena them so they could testify and bring pertinent documents. The journalists refused to stand as witnesses and the Senate did not act on the subpoena requests.
What the public was thinking
As PJRR pointed out in the March-April 2012 issue (“Covering the impeachment live Missing: The voice of the people”), the “voice of the people” was lacking in the coverage, despite the fact that what the citizenry was thinking was an important ingredient in the reporting of a political process.
In the later period of the trial, PJRR noted a focus on the views of ordinary citizens via reports on public opinion surveys as well as man/woman on the street interviews. The letters to the editor sections also carried readers’ views on the subject. Print, television, and online sites also cited citizen comments over social media.
Some reports asked ordinary citizens their views on the dollar deposits of Corona and his failure to disclose these to the public through his SALN, whether or not Corona should testify before the impeachment court, and their thoughts on the guilty verdict, among others.
There was a mix of views from the public on Corona’s conviction which the media duly reported. Some said that the conviction of Corona would have a “chilling effect” on the judiciary and that the evidence against him was not enough for a conviction. Others agreed with the guilty verdict, saying Corona lacked credibility and that the trial revealed enough reason to doubt his capacity to serve as the chief magistrate of the Supreme Court.
Bloggers and social media users also made an effort to expand the discussion on the impeachment trial. For example, Blog Watch had a page dedicated to it.
The learning experience
Conducting the impeachment trial in public and with media coverage was even more educational than the 2001 impeachment trial of Joseph Estrada because unlike Estrada’s, Corona’s trial was successfully concluded.
The press coverage of the impeachment trial shed light on existing laws and the ambiguities in some of them. The original purposes for which some laws were passed had apparently been forgotten by some government officials. Two critical examples are the prohibition for Supreme Court Justices to make public their SALN as well as the confidentiality of dollar accounts.
The press provided context through in-depth reports on the law on banking practices (Republic Act [RA] 9194, an Act amending RA 9160 otherwise known as the Anti Money Laundering Act of 2001 and RA 6426, Foreign Currency Deposit Act) and the role of agencies such as the Office of the Ombudsman (Accountability of public officers, Article XI, 1987 Constitution) and the AMLC.
But the trial revealed long-standing irregularities in the implementation of laws and the failure of government agencies and officials to abide by their own agencies’ rules and procedures.
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