COMMISSION on Human Rights Chair Leila de Lima on Wednesday warned journalists against being used as “pawns” of the government and other interests to undermine human rights.
At the launching of Reporting Human Rights in the Philippines: A Field Guide for Journalists and Media Workers, De Lima lauded journalists for being at the front line in ensuring respect for human rights.
She reminded them, however, that most stories have implications on human rights and that it was important to highlight the pertinent human rights laws in these stories.
Published by the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project and written by journalists Red Batario, Luz Rimban, Ibarra Mateo and Yvonne Chua, the 90-page field guide provides summaries of human rights concepts, treaties and instruments.
The manual also provides online sources to human rights documents, offers journalists different ways to explore human rights as story, and provides safety advice and tips on how to link up with human rights organizations.
Lawyer Theodore Te, Erlinda Cadapan, mother of missing UP student Sherlyn, and journalist Howie Severino also spoke at the launching of the field guide held at Annabel’s Restaurant in Quezon City.
The Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project is an active collaboration between the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Center for Community Journalism and Development, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and MindaNews. It is funded by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor.