The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) on Tuesday inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to ensure the safety and respect for the rights of the members of the press covering the 2025 polls.

Signing the MOA on behalf of Comelec was Chairperson George Garcia while PTFoMS Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez signed on behalf of the task force.

The MOA is the first of its kind between the poll body and the PTFoMS, the government’s agency to address all violations on the right to life, liberty, and security of all members of the press, since the latter’s creation under Administrative Order No. 1 (AO1) in 2016.

PTFoMS recognizes the important role of the press in scrupulously reporting and interpreting the news, taking care not to suppress essential facts nor distort the truth by omission or improper emphasis.

The agreement also seeks to provide media practitioners with a safe and protected space, free from any unnecessary interference in order to perform their duty to report truthful election related news.

Among others, the MOA seeks to consider any act of threat, harassment, illegal detention, torture, or physical violence to any member of the press a violation of the media’s role under the Fair Election Act or RA 9006, the Omnibus Election Code, or the Revised Penal Code, as the case may be.

Garcia said he agreed to the MOA considering that poll workers also suffer from the same level of threats, harassments and loss of life being experienced by journalists during elections.

“Ang dinaranas ninyo (journalists) tuwing eleksyon ay dinaranas din ng aming mga tauhan, partikular yung mga nasa field (What you journalists are experiecing during the elections are also being experienced by our poll workers),” he said.

Garcia also stressed the important role played by the media in achieving the poll body’s mandate of conducting a clean, credible, free, honest, and orderly elections.

The official said the provisions of the MOA would take effect this October, the start of the filing of certificate of candidacy and would last until the end of the election period, or until 11 June 2025.

Any media practitioner whose rights are violated during the covered period must report the incident immediately to the PTFoMS, which would then immediately coordinate with the Comelec on the appropriate measure to be taken to address the incident.

The PTFoMS shall also be responsible in attesting that the victim is a legitimate member of the press and assist the victim in the filing of a formal complaint before the poll body.