TOKYO, Japan – The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Saturday enjoined journalists to live by the ancient Japanese code of conduct to uphold press freedom and responsibility.
Speaking at the Press Freedom Caravan in Tokyo, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar reminded journalists to practice key principles in exercising the freedom of the press.
“Freedom and responsibility are the words in my equation, precisely because we are Asians. Although we may have inherited the concept of freedom of the press form the West, it is imperative that our culture should restrain us from the abuse of this freedom,” Andanar said.
“Allow me to emphasize this by citing from the ancient Japanese Bushido Code, the ethical standards that should govern our lives in media and these are justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty, and self-control,” he added.
About 30 Filipino and Japanese journalists participated in the caravan that discussed the accurate narrative of the current state of press freedom in the Philippines.
This was the fourth leg of the Press Freedom Caravan held this year after Thailand, Europe, and Hong Kong.
The PCOO will also hold a Press Freedom Caravan for overseas Filipino workers here on June 2.
Andanar added that media responsibility acts as the safeguards against fabricated news, scandals, violence, greed, corruption, and profligacy.
“There can only be one threshold of the truth on which press freedom is exercised. This is the personal honor that every journalist must follow from the heart. We make the world a better place to live in, because of the quality of our reports and the mastery of contents,” he said. “We have the freedom to resist what is wrong and what is evil, and we prevail in this battle because we are right. We render to everyone what is just and what is morally due.”
“We must not fear the battlefield of media. Freedom of the press is defined by the responsibility to the truth,” he added. (PCOO)
