Press Release BAWAL MAG-SHOOT DITO-ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES (BMSD PILIPINAS) PHOTOGRAPHERS SAY NO TO HOUSE BILL 4807 Ref: Mel Cortez/Founder-Creator-BMSD Pilipinas Photographers have marched to Batasan Pambansa to protest against the House Bill 4807 or popularly known as the anti-Selfie Bill. Photojournalists Center of the Philippines, Press Photographers of the Philippines, Burgos Media Center, and Bawal Magshoot Dito - Only in the Philippines (BMSD Pilipinas) Mel Cortez, founder of BMSD Pilipinas, a photography group advocating photography freedom in the Philippines, said that House Bill 4807 is open to abuse and only seeks to destroys freedom of expression in the guise of protecting privacy. House Bill 4807 seeks to “curb acts of trespassing and other intrusions on personal privacy committed by any person in order to capture visual or sound impressions of an individual, with intent to gain or profit”. Cortez said that we believe that personal privacy should be protected at all cost and is provided by our constitution and laws. But privacy should not be used as an excuse to curtail freedom of expression especially when it comes to matters of public interest. House Bill 4807 only seeks to protect the powerful and will only serve as a shield for the corrupt. Photography is an art form practiced by Filipinos ranging from the professional photographers and hobbyist and also practiced by the individual who takes selfies and by the concerned citizen who captures an interesting or shocking moments and shares them to the public. If House Bill 4807 is passed, freedom of expression through photography will be curtailed. Cortez explained that recently, photos and videos shared over different mediums has exposed unethical behavior of public servants. The recent creation of House Bill 4807 seems to be a reaction to the recent phenomena. What makes it worse is that the bill was crafted secretly without the consent of various stakeholders like media and artists’ groups. We have been kept in the dark and we are surprised that this bill is now on its third reading! Cortez added. Cortez added that photography is an instrument of truth. Passing House Bill 4807 will have a chilling effect against photojournalist and photographers who have the intention of exposing the truth to the public. House Bill 4807 will be an instrument to silence not just photographers but also every citizen. It is just a ploy to prevent photography from being used to expose the abuses of the powerful and the corrupt. Cortez said that we ask our lawmakers to trash House Bill 4807 because it will only curtail freedom of expression which is a vital element to our democracy.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:17:21 +0000
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