New law could criminalise the use of “Muslim” in reports of crime

"Muslim"

House representative Silvestre Bello III has filed a proposal that would ban the use of “Muslim” in any crime related reportage.

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The ban would include using the word to describe any person suspected of committing a felony in the Philippines. The bill also asked for the word “Muslim” to be banned on police blotters, tri-media coverage and all government agencies.

The measure would also “seeks to erase negative perception which the use of “Muslim” creates in the public mind against the religious minority in the country.”

Representative Bello asked: “Why aren’t there headlines of Catholics or other religious sect members suspected of committing similar criminal acts like ‘Catholics torch municipal hall’ or ‘police arrest Protestant bombing suspect’ or ‘cops nab Aglipay kidnappers’?”

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Bello says that such reporting “unjustly and unnecessarily depicts our Muslim brethren as trouble makers and outlaws, in general, that they should be feared and shunned due to their perceived violent tendencies.

Under the proposed bill, all media workers, law enforcers, agencies, public and private entities would be forbidden from using the word “Muslim” in describing a person or suspect who has committed an offence in their report.

The bill also proposes a first time violation of 500 pesos but not more than 1,000 pesos – second-time offenders would receive no less than 1,000 peso fine, but not exceeding 3,000 pesos.

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Third-time offenders caught using the world “Muslim” in a report would have their licence, permit or accreditation suspended for up to a year. Those caught for a fourth and subsequent time would have their licence revoked.

Bello, a former government peace negotiator and justice secretary, explained his standpoint in a statement that the bill is not meant to silence the media but is meant to guide them on when the term “Muslim” should be used.

“The only justifiable and legally tenable use of the word Muslim for violations of law should be when the criminal act was expressly performed by the suspected malefactor or criminal for religious purposes or with religious underpinnings, or purposely done to draw attention to their being Muslims,” Bello said.

Officials of the Catholic-Ulama Bishops Conference of the Philippines and those of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao praised the proposed law, saying in part that the law would be “very fair” for people of different faiths.

Some members of the media, police and military in Central Mindanao also welcomed the bill. Some say that the Moro rebellion in the south has partly evolved from discrimination against Muslims.

The bill would hopefully curb the use of the world to attract search engine results and create hype within the media, blogging and other media, social media and reports about the activities of Muslims living within the Philippines.