The media needs to be more accountable, a Catholic priest has said, to stop what he calls its disgraceful coverage of issues, including those that concern the Church. Father Roy Cimagala, chaplain of the Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise in Cebu province, said this week it is time "to make journalists and opinion-makers accountable for their statements." The priest was reacting to national media coverage of the recent controversy involving seven Filipino bishops who accepted vehicles from the government sweepstakes office. Media reports said the bishops solicited funds from former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to buy vehicles for personal use. A Senate inquiry later determined that the vehicles given to the bishops were donated to dioceses in some of the poorest mountainous regions of the country. The bishops have since returned the vehicles. Father Cimagala called the media frenzy a "strange development." He said ethical and professional lapses by most Manila-based media were exposed when it was discovered that reporters were given misleading information by sweepstakes office officials. Father Cimagala said these mistakes could be avoided in future by introducing proper regulations. President Benigno Aquino last week announced that the government is drafting a freedom of information bill. "The right to know carries with it certain responsibilities – to use available information in the right context, and to present facts fairly,” he said. “People should also be conscious of certain elements who may want to use information, not to inform the public, but to inflame them," the president said. Related stories https://www.ucanews.com/2011/07/13/senate-finds-no-fault-with-donations