GMA News Channel 7 asked for a legal opinion on the Mark Solis entry to the photography contest of the Chilean Embassy, which entry (photograph) was found to have been right-clicked from the site of a Brazilian photographer’s Flickr account for which Mark Solis had apologized.
Watch for the interview on GMA 7 news!
The GMA 7 cameraman took a video of the text of the moral rights provision of the Intellectual Property Code .
Watch for the discussion!
The cameraman also took a video of Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code. Just in case the lighting wasn’t that great in the conference room (kasi the text was in small font of the crime book), here’s the provision in bigger font :
Art. 172. Falsification by private individual and use of falsified documents. — The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a fine of not more than P5,000 pesos shall be imposed upon:
xxx
2. Any person who, to the damage of a third party, or with the intent to cause such damage, shall in any private document commit any of the acts of falsification enumerated in the next preceding article. (underscoring supplied)
xxxx xxxx
According to Justice Aquno : A private document has been defined by the Supreme Court as “every deed or instrument executed by a private person, without the intervention of a notary public or other person, legally authorized, by which document some disposition or agreement is proven, evidenced, or set forth. “
On the other hand, “acts of falsification enumerated in the next preceding article” refer to the following:
1.Counterfeiting or imitating any handwriting, signature, etc.;
2.Making it appear that a person took part in any act when in fact they did not;
3.Attributing certain statements to a person who in fact did not make them;
4.MAKING UNTRUTHFUL STATEMENTS IN A NARRATION OF FACTS (caps and underscoring supplied: this is a pertinent provision to the action being contemplated by those who have been duped by the person in question).
5.Altering true dates;
6.MAKING ALTERATIONS IN A GENUINE DOCUMENT WHICH CHANGES ITS MEANING;
7. Issuing as an authenticated copy of an original when no such original exists;
8.Intercalating any instrument in relation to a protocol, registry, or official book.
As of posting time, journalists have been required by the military authorities to evacuate Barangay (village) Sta. Catalina because of heavy firefighting.
The following is a summary of the Charter for the Safety of Journalists Working in War Zones or Dangerous Areas adopted by the Reporters Sans Frontieres or Reporters Without Borders:
(Intro. gist) International law requires the warring parties to provide protection to journalists working in war zones. Employers must also provide basic protection, compensation, and guarantees. The following eight principles apply:
Principle 1. Commitment. (gist) Media organizations, the State, and journalists must reduce risks by exchanging useful information, providing enough preparation, equipment, insurance.
Principle 2. Free Will. (gist) Covering armed conflict must always be voluntary. A reporter and/ or his/her crew has the right to refuse the assignment, or to terminate it even while in the field.
Principle 3. Experience. (gist) Only experienced reporters shall be sent to a war zone. Those who are covering combat for the first time must be accompanied by an experienced colleague. After the assignment, editors must provide a debriefing to cull lessons.
Principle 4. Preparation. (gist) Training in how to cope in war zones, how to reduce risks, and how to conduct first aid, must be regularly provided.
Principle 5. Equipment. (gist) Editors should provide war correspondents and their crew with enough safety equipment such as bullet-proof vests, helmets and, if possible, armored vehicles,
communication equipment (locator beacons) and survival and first-aid kits.
Principle 6. Insurance (gist). Before sending reporters and their crew to dangerous assignments, editors must provide insurance for illness, repatriation, disability and loss of life and comply with all professional obligations and agreements.
Principle 7. Psychological counselling. (gist) Media management must ensure that reporters and their crew, if they so desire, have access to psychological counselling after returning from a dangerous assignment.
Principle 8. Legal protection. (gist). Under Protocol 2 of the Geneva Conventions, journalists are considered civilians and entitled to protection. Any attack on journalists that causes their death or injury is a breach of the Protocol and is considered a war crime.
– Summary of the Charter for the Safety of Journalists Working in War Zones adopted by the Reporters sans Frontieres
