SC: Media accreditation must not transgress freedom of speech, press

The Supreme Court (SC) has said that guidelines and procedures for the accreditation of media representatives should not be used to transgress the constitutional rights to freedom of speech, expression, and the press.

“Any limitation on the exercise of free speech ‘must be justified on legitimate grounds that are clear and indubitable and with means that are narrowly tailored and only specifically calibrated to achieve those purposes,’” it said.

“Thus, no matter how laudable the objective of respondent in weeding out illegitimate media personalities, the means used to achieve such an objective must not unnecessarily sweep on the rights of legitimate media personalities,” it added.

It issued the remark as it dismissed a petition filed by the Customs Tri-Media Association Inc. and other journalists covering the Bureau of Customs (BOC) regarding Customs Memorandum Order No. 37-2011.

The order provided the guidelines and procedures in the accreditation of BOC media practitioners to ensure that only bona fide media professionals and bona fide media organizations were allowed entry.

The terms of the order also provided that the editorial content of the publication must at all times be compliant with the Philippine Journalists Code of Ethics; the “no ID, no entry” shall be strictly enforced; and media interviews with BOC officials and employees must be prearranged to avoid work disruption.

The order was repealed in January 2014.

Due to this, the SC said it does not need to rule on the constitutionality of the memorandum order as it has become a non-issue.

“This is because the express repeal of a statute and the declaration of unconstitutionality produce a similar effect on the subject enactment. The enactment ceases to exist and produces no legal effect,” it said.

The decision was promulgated in April 2024 and made public in February 2025. --VAL, GMA Integrated News