The Philippine Courts System and Limitations of the Press - COMM 311 Lesson 3 and 4 PDF

00:12 Our first lesson for this class video is Lesson Tree the Philippine Court System. We will not dwell so much on the jurisdiction, or the specific cases one trial court can handle, um, because that is what law students do. 00:27 This is just to inform you on how the court system works in our co...

00:12 Our first lesson for this class video is Lesson Tree the Philippine Court System. We will not dwell so much on the jurisdiction, or the specific cases one trial court can handle, um, because that is what law students do. 00:27 This is just to inform you on how the court system works in our country. If you are wondering, sir, what is Jurek\'s Diction? 00:35 I\'m running in a Balik Balik Mananimusir. Jurek\'s Diction is basically the scope of a court\'s judicial power or their area of responsibility. 00:45 If a case fall under a court\'s jurisdiction, meaning that specific court has the ability to conduct a trial, review evidences, and strike verdict on a case. 00:56 Same goes with the vice versa. If the specific trial court has no jurisdiction over the case, then they have no power to exercise any of the acts I mentioned earlier. 01:07 So now let us move on to the specific courts in the Philippine court system. Starting with the first level courts. 01:16 So each municipality or city in the Philippines has its own trial court. These are what we call the first level courts. 01:24 The first one is the metropolitan trial courts or the MTCs, are the first level courts located in the metropolitan Manila area. 01:33 Municipal trial court in cities, or most commonly known as city trial courts, are trial courts located in cities outside Manila. 01:43 Municipal trial courts are first level courts that cover only one municipality, while the municipal circuit trial courts, or sometimes can be called as the provincial trial courts, cover multiple municipalities. 01:58 The Saria Circuit Courts are courts located in the municipalities enforcing the Muslim Court. This is common in Mindanao. These courts are of equivalent rank as two municipal circuit trial courts. 02:12 So, take note class that first level courts handle minor disputes or localized cases. Each court has a city, municipal or provincial judge. 02:25 And remember that this is a recurring theme throughout the courts because each court has its own judge or justice sense. 02:34 Moving on. To the second level courts, so the second level courts are basically the regional trial courts. As its name suggests, it has jurisdiction over an entire region. 02:49 So there is one RTC per region, one to 13, and another for the National Capital Region or the NCR. So there are a total of 14 RTCs in the country. 03:00 Sharia District Courts are equivalent or are of the same rank as regional trial courts. Its jurisdiction fall on regions in Mindana where the Muslim Code is enforced. 03:13 RTCs were formally known as the Court of First Instance during the Spanish era. So what is first instance? First instance means the very first time a case is filed to a court or any court. 03:27 So RTCs were called this before because first level courts did not exist back then. Next, the Sandigan Bion. So the Sandigan Bion has jurisdiction over civil or criminal cases involving graft and corruption and other similar offenses committed by public officers, officials or employees. 03:55 Their jurisdiction fall under the government outfits in the country. These are departments, units, LGUs or local government units, and the like, including government-owned or controlled corporations. 04:11 The offense committed by any public officers or officials and employees before it falls under the sindigaan bayan\'s jurisdiction ,should be in relation to their job or office as may be determined by law. 04:26 Otherwise, the San Diganbayan has no control over the case and would then proceed to the higher courts. So, for example, a libel case was filed against a politician to a regional trial court but has no implications or related misconduct when it comes to his or her practice or office. 04:46 Then the case proceeds to the next court if an appeal or a motion to reconsider the verdict was approved. So what is basically an appeal? 04:56 An appeal is a request for a higher court to review a lower court\'s decision. So this is how the cases move from one court to the other. 05:05 An appeal is done by a lawyer or any party involved in the case. And once a lower court decides on a verdict, any party of the case can then appeal for a higher court to review the verdict of the lower court. 05:24 So take note that is an appeal, that is how an appeal works. And next is on the motion for reconsideration. 05:33 So it\'s still the same aspect, but a motion for reconsideration is done in the same court that ruled a case. 05:42 So a motion to reconsider is a legal request that allows the lawyer to ask the judge to reconsider his or her ruling based on facts or evidence that weren\'t brought up in the original hearing. 05:54 So this must be done 20 days after a verdict has been served. So basically, so a lawyer can petition a motion for reconsideration to any of the courts if they have new evidence that can support or maybe even alter the decision of the judge or the ruling of the judge. 06:13 So this must be done 20 days after the judge ruling. The next is on the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals is the country\'s second highest tribunal, tribunal meaning a Court of Judges. 06:30 So most cases from the lower courts before arriving to the Supreme Court first is handled by the Court of Appeals. 06:41 So, this is where another trial will be conducted for any appealed cases from the lower courts. These or this court\'s decisions are final unless the complainant or the plaintiff, the complainant and the plaintiff are the ones who filed the case or the defendant, the one accused, moves to appeal the case 07:03 to the Supreme Court. So that is the two parties of a case, the complainant or the plaintiff or the one who filed the case and the defendant or the one accused. 07:16 Okay, so any of the parties can then appeal to move the case to the Supreme Court. But otherwise the Court of Appeals decision or verdict is final. 07:30 Lately, the Supreme Court is the highest tribunal of the country. It is considered as the center of justice in the Philippines. 07:41 So the Supreme Court is made up of 14 justices led by a chief justice, totaling to 15 court justices for the Supreme Court. 07:50 ,and the chief justice is appointed by the president during the start of his term. So I will not be naming the judges here or the justices here as well as the chief justice because that is a part of my activities for this lesson. 08:09 So, so what does the Supreme Court do? So all cases appealed from the lower courts are presented to the Supreme Court on questions of law, Wants the Supreme Court lands a verdict, it is considered final. 08:23 Because no other courts are higher or have higher jurisdiction over the Supreme Court. So the SC or the Supreme Court has the authority to question even the constitutionality of a law passed or a bill yet to be signed. 08:41 So that is how powerful the Supreme Court is. ,They can even question the constitutionality of Allah. So another aspect of the supreme court is the administrative power over all the courts in the Philippines. 08:57 So the AC leads and supervises all the courts in the country through its office of the court administrator. So that is basically the current Philippine Justice System. 09:12 So we have not tackled much under specific areas of jurisdiction because it is not very crucial when it comes to studying media laws. 09:21 But what you need to understand and what is offered in this lesson is just where cases can be filed in the country and how these cases proceed from one court to the other. 09:32 So you will encounter these courts in your case readings in the future, at least this lesson has provided an insight on how the court system works. 09:43 Okay. Let us now proceed to the next lesson, which is on the limitations of the press. We would be tackled during our previous lesson ang mga laws and provisions protecting the people\'s right to know, and at the same time press freedom. 10:03 Now we will tackle the limitations of the press that safeguards the government\'s right to secrecy and confidentiality. We learned in the previous lessons, basically what constitutes public concern. 10:17 Now we will learn which records are beyond the scope of public concern in which the media has no right or have limited access to when it comes to broadcasting the said information. 10:33 So there are three categories to the limitations of the press. The first one is the limitations on public records. The second one is the limitation on confidential matters. 10:45 And the third one, the limitations on exemption to reveal sources. So we will discuss these or them one by one. 10:55 Starting with the limitation on public records. So you might be wondering, sir, why limit public records if na agani ang word na public. 11:05 Later on, we will come to realize that not all records circulating in the government requires the knowledge and consideration of the public, hence the limitation. 11:19 The first one is the Section 7 Article 3 Bill of Rights of the 1987 Philippine Constitution Let me read access to official records into documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions as well as government research data used as basis for policy development shall be afforded 11:40 to the citizen subject to limitation limitations as provided by law. So the key term there is subject to limitations provided by law. 11:51 So we will discover what are these limitations specifically. The first one is on internal policy. So internal policy are basically records, memos, orders, transactions, or any documents circulated within the internal outfits of the government. 12:10 Starting with, for example, is the entry of intra-office memos. So, intro-office memos, are basically mga memorandum na gina-distributes sa isaka-specific government Department Unit or Office na ang mapektuhan lang kaya ang international, internal rather, internal operation, and a empleado, mga empleado 12:33 , sakato na specific Department Unit or Office. Okay, another internal policy is the internal records. Internal records are records, transactions, communications done by two or more government offices, departments or units. 12:52 And finally the internal communications or any form of communication be it written correspondence, minutes of internal meetings or routed communication, routed communication, meaning a communication from On one, Department, sat to another Within Government Bodies Are considered private so It does not 13:15 constitute public concern Or it does not require the scrutiny Or the interest of the public Next, our Military Intelligence Reports Or MIIRs MIIRs are reports produced and circulated Within the Military, Police or any law enforcement and national security agencies in the country. 13:40 Military intelligence reports are often yet to be verified and needs extensive confirmation before being divulged to the public as truth. 13:49 So these reports are not yet verified. So if as a media practitioner you gain access to an MIR to AMIR, think twice before releasing any data because this can cause public chaos and may even compromise the mission and most importantly the lives of our men and women in the military or in uniform. 14:13 So for purposes of National Security and Public Order, confirmed MIRs are only announced to the public by military officials of RACT. 14:24 So MIRs are top secret data which can only be announced to the public by a high-ranking official. Most often verified MIRs of national importance are announced by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which is by the Constitution, also the President of our country. 14:50 Next provision that protects the limitation on public records is section 2 rule 1, 3, 5 of the rules of court. 15:01 So let me read, the records of every court justice shall be public records and shall be available for the inspection of any interested person. 15:09 At all proper business hours under supervision of the clerk having custody of such records, unless the courts shall in any special case have forbidden their publicity in the interest of morality and decency. 15:22 So the rules sounds like a privilege or a right, but the limitation is stated on this key term, which is in any special case have forbidden their publicity and the interest of morality and decency. 15:40 So although court records are deemed public once a verdict is passed, any trial court has the authority to impose privacy or at least delay the publication of any court records in special cases involving matters on morality and decency. 15:58 So this is where the limitation is present. So some examples are Ritmeses of crimes. So in not revealing the identity of a primary witness, the media protects the individual and secures confidentiality pwede nishalati of anong going trial, protecting the witness identity, is also affording justice to 16:23 the victims of the crimes. So this is evident in cases with a whistleblower or any pointed witness to a crime that is in custody and protection afforded by the law to all witnesses of any crime. 16:39 So if one would report and then reveal the witness identity, Shen prema pappa ha magsha, and would also endanger the case, which will only delay justice and would further take a toll on the victim\'s family. 16:54 Next is on r\*\*\* victims. Names of r\*\*\* victims are withheld. If one had to cover r\*\*\* stories, the victim must not be visible and should be given an alias. 17:07 A distortion of the voice is also necessary. A move to expose and besmuch the reputation of a person victimized by r\*\*\*, be it intentional or unintentional, constitutes to a libel case. 17:20 So r\*\*\* is considered as a heinous crime that can ruin a person\'s social identity and image once divulge. So a libel case filed by a r\*\*\* victim against a media practitioner is considered very strong because r\*\*\* victims are protected by numerous laws. 17:40 So Mahirap ilusatyan in the part of the media practitioner if proven that is that there is really misconduct on the media practitioner\'s part. 17:51 The next one is children and minors implicated in crimes. So children and minors should be protected at all times. This is giving consideration to the fact that they are still growing and their minds are still changeable and moldable, by implicated in crimes we mean, involved either as suspects or victims 18:11 of a crime. Kaip na ang bata o ang minor, on suspect he or she still has to be protected as the constitution and law affords a child. 18:22 So we do not reveal their faces and cheat stories with them involved in utmost care, Mostly the same as what is usually done when reporting on r\*\*\*\* cases. 18:33 So the standards that I stated earlier as to how very victims are reported, these are also commonly applied to children and minor simplikated in crimes. 18:48 Finally, for Section 2 Rule 105 Rules of Court is on pending court cases. So any court proceedings without verdict or conclusion is should not be revealed to the public yet. 19:04 So there is a reason why the press are not invited inside a court of law during a proceeding because of the absence of a verdict. 19:13 Any devolved information may cause dire consequences on the developments of a case. Next, you may or may not have heard this, but this is the trial by publicity. 19:28 This is a mortal sin committed by media practitioners. This is basically overreporting on an issue. The issue is fed too often to the public that it becomes sensational. 19:41 Afen creating criminals out of suspects even before they had a chance to defend themselves in a court of law and were afforded the juu process of law. 19:51 So that is why in reporting we always use the words alleged or allegedly, or in Filipino, diomano, sinasabi, or nasabing, or sabi ni sayap pa, kay kuno, sumalap pa, gikaingun, or statements such as, hindi hina lang sos pek dori dandant na shaka ang sos pek gina-hina-hina-alatman good but you get the 20:18 point. Those are the key terms that we use in order to not make criminals out of sos peks that have not yet gone through the due process of law. 20:28 So that is one way of how we prevent trial by publicity but also another is to know how much of our air time should a specific issue occupy. 20:39 So this is determined by rather the reporter or the producer of the same broadcast, okay? The next category is on limitations on confidential matters. 20:54 The provision that protects confidential matters is Section 10 rule 139 rules of court. Proceedings against attorneys shall be private and confidential, Except that the final order of the court shall be made public as in other cases coming before the court. 21:11 On going cases against a thernese must be considered confidential until the court issues its verdict. This is to keep their identities and integrity protected if they were to be proven innocent. 21:23 So this provision protects lawyers specifically because lawyers get sued all the time in the practice of their profession. hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi. 21:39 So, but this is also the same as to any conduct of any professional whose integrity and credibility are on the line. 21:50 A very important reminder, especially in the practice of medialo, is this clause, which is the presence of a verdict is equivalent to public information. 22:06 But remember, once a verdict is passed, it constitutes public information unless stated by Section 2 Rule 125 of the Rules of Court, in anyways determined by the court in the interest of morality and decency. 22:24 So despite having a verdict as public information, there are also special cases wherein the court can rule privacy or prevent the devolging of the said information or the ruling of any cases. 22:45 Let\'s proceed to the last category on the limitations of the press, which is on limitations on exemption to reveal sources. 22:58 So, Section 1, Republic Act No. 53. Editors and reporters cannot be compelled to reveal the source of any information or news report appearing in any publication unless the Court or a House or Committee of Congress finds that such revelation is demanded by the security of the state. 23:21 So, basically, this provision of the Republic Act number 50 is alright for the press, but it has a limitation as well. 23:34 This privilege on editors and reporters, however, ends to become a limitation when national security and public order is at stake. 23:43 Insisting to keep the names of sources in these circumstances will constitute to obstruction of justice. So in situations involving national security and public order, editors and writers can be compelled to reveal the identity and even the location of their sources. 24:03 Otherwise, the media practitioner will be sued for obstruction of justice. And that\'s it class for our video lesson, for lessons 3 and 4. 24:16 I hope you have watched the entire video and understood each topic.