LEGAL ASSISTANCE. Froilan Gallardo (center), president of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club Inc., signs a memorandum of agreement with a group of lawyers on Monday (May 20, 2024). The partnership aims to provide free legal assistance for media workers and journalists as the city government of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental province observe its annual Press Freedom Week. (Photo courtesy of Edelvise Requilme)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental Province celebrate the annual Press Freedom Week, with the local media organization partnering with lawyers to provide free legal assistance for media workers.
To kick off the weeklong celebration on Monday, the 72-year-old Cagayan de Oro Press Club Inc. (COPC) and Zarate-Viña and Associates law firm signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for free legal assistance to both members and non-members working in the media industry facing charges while performing their duties.
COPC President Froilan Gallardo said the MOA is good for a year and renewable at the discretion of the newly elected board of directors.
Gallardo noted that common charges brought against media workers and journalists often involve libel cases.
Lawyer Karlos Isagani Zarate, one of the partners in the law firm, said while media workers and journalists now have free access to legal services, they should remain true to the profession's calling by following media ethics.
"Major media networks have their legal counsels, but we will prioritize those workers who don't have representation (or cannot afford a lawyer)," Zarate said.
The Press Freedom Week is observed every third week of May. The observance originated in 1982 through an order issued by former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., then the mayor of the city.
In 2011, the celebration was adopted by the province of Misamis Oriental. (With reports from Mark Daniel Abejay and Judy Ann Abrio/PNA)
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