It is time to have an official national organization for vloggers, asserted Sen. Raffy Tulfo this Monday.
He said, unlike traditional media with “accountability” and “checks and balances”, some vloggers simply post on social media without going through any process.
“Marami ding independent vloggers na responsible… That’s siguro it’s about time — I don’t know if this needs legislation — na magkaroon po ng ‘Kapisanan ng mga Vloggers sa Pilipinas’ or something to that effect na para magkakaroon ng policing, na para maging responsable na sila. Hindi iyong sa ngayon e may kanya-kanya sila,” said Tulfo.
“Marami nga dyan na mga vloggers na sumusunod sa code of ethics, sa tamang pamamaraan para ilabas mo iyong istorya… Pero meron pa rin talaga dyan mga ‘guerilla’, na talagang ‘pag umupak, upak lang without thinking of the consequences because walang nagre-regulate sa kanila,” he added.
During the Senate Labor Committee’s discussion of the proposed Media Workers’ Welfare Act, he made the statement.
According to Tulfo, a former broadcast journalist, contractualization should be stopped for all media workers.
Tulfo proposes organization for vloggers
“Never po ako naging regular. Ako po ay laging talent at accepted ko po iyon… Ang napapansin ko lang po talaga, iyon bang talent ka, dehado ka pagdating sa benefits. Pag nagkasakit ka, hindi mo alam kung saan mo kukunin iyong panggastos,” the senator said.
“Any time pwede kang tanggalin kasi nga wala kang security of tenure dahil talent ka… It’s about time alisin ang contractualization sa media,” he added.
He also said media companies need to give their employees adequate support when they are involved in libel cases, which he said also become instruments for harassment. He also said that the media should have security when receiving death threats.
Labor Undersecretary Benjo Santos Benavides pointed out that there is a law for all those who have an “employer-employee relationship”, such as contractual, probationary and regular workers.
He said it would also be good to have new legislation to cover “talents” in the media.
Meanwhile, Labor Committee Chairperson Sen. Jinggoy Estrada asserted providing insurance for stuntmen regarding TV production.
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