CEBU CITY (PNA) — The Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) has passed a resolution asking news outfits to secure training for their journalists covering the May 2010 elections.

“These are things that cannot wait,” said Atty. Pachico Seares, CCPC Executive Director, during the Council’s 17th quarterly en-banc meeting at the MBF Cebu Press Center in Cebu City.

The training should focus on election laws, procedures and ethics and can either be done in-house, meaning by the news outfits themselves, or via joint seminars.

It should also provide news reporters and photojournalists familiarity with the area of the coverage, the people they cover, the political situation in that area and customs and habits of the community.

”We have to do this now, before the election campaign period starts,” said Seares, who is also Editor-in-Chief of Sun Star Cebu.

Moreover, news outfits are also encouraged to help educate voters through news and features on the procedures of voting, especially with the shift to automation.

At the same time, they are urged to run stories discussing qualifications of candidates and issues on competence and integrity, thus enabling readers to make informed choices.

News outfits are also called upon to come up with stories urging for safeguards against fraud and those that inspire people to help safeguard the voting process and its results.

During the quarterly en-banc meeting, the CCPC’s board also resolved to enter into a partnership with the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) for a study which aims to assess how media covers the polls.

“We will improve on what we did in 2007,” Seares said, referring to a similar project implemented in the last elections.