Paraluman News recognizes that important public-interest journalism often depends on people who are willing to share information about misconduct, corruption, abuse, public-safety risks, misinformation, institutional failures, and other matters that may otherwise remain hidden.

Some sources can speak publicly. Others may face dismissal, disciplinary action, harassment, discrimination, legal pressure, physical danger, reputational harm, or other retaliation if their identities become known.

We are committed to protecting confidential sources and sensitive unpublished material to the fullest extent reasonably, ethically, technically, and lawfully possible. We will take source safety into account from first contact through reporting, publication, retention, and any later legal or security issue.

However, no communication method or newsroom process can guarantee complete security or permanent anonymity. Devices, networks, documents, accounts, service providers, legal demands, human error, and information contained in a published report may create identification risks. We will be honest about those risks and will not make assurances that our systems, personnel, or the law cannot support.

This policy explains:

• How readers may submit routine or sensitive tips;

• What confidentiality and anonymity mean at Paraluman News;

• How we assess and protect source identities;

• How we handle documents, personal information, and unpublished material;

• What happens when we receive a legal demand; and

• The limits of the protection we can provide.

Routine tip channels are not anonymous or high-security channels

The following Paraluman News contact methods are appropriate for ordinary news leads and information that would not place the sender at serious risk if the contact became known:

• The Submit a Tip web form;

• desk@myparaluman.ph;

• The newsroom telephone line;

• Messages sent through Paraluman News social-media accounts; and

• Direct contact with a reporter through ordinary email, telephone, text message, or social media.

These channels may create records such as an email address, telephone number, account name, internet protocol address, device information, transmission time, location information, file metadata, or service-provider logs.

Selecting “I want to submit this tip anonymously” on our web form means that you may omit your name and that Paraluman News will not knowingly identify you publicly without permission. It does not mean that the submission is technically anonymous to website operators, hosting providers, internet providers, device administrators, or other intermediaries.

Do not use an ordinary Paraluman News channel for highly sensitive information when discovery of your contact with us could expose you or another person to serious harm.

This policy applies to:

• Paraluman News editors, reporters, producers, researchers, photographers, videographers, designers, and social-media personnel;

• Employees, officers, interns, contractors, freelancers, and correspondents;

• Campus Voices and Global Voices editors or contributors who receive source information for potential Paraluman News coverage;

• Partner organizations and service providers that are given authorized access to source-related information; and

• Source information received through the website, email, telephone, messaging services, social media, physical documents, interviews, events, or any other reporting channel.

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This policy applies whether or not a tip ultimately results in publication.

It should be read together with the Paraluman News:

• Editorial Standards and Code of Ethics;

• Privacy Policy;

• Corrections Policy;

• Complaints and Appeals Policy;

• Artificial Intelligence Policy; and

• Information-security and incident-response procedures.

Source
A source is a person who provides information, evidence, documents, observations, expertise, background, or other assistance for possible journalistic use.

On the record
Information provided on the record may be published and attributed to the source by name.

On background
Information provided on background may be used, but the source is described in a manner agreed upon before the information is provided—for example, by role, organization, location, or general relationship to the subject.

The description must be accurate and must not deliberately mislead readers.

Not for attribution
Information provided not for attribution may be used, but not linked to the source by name. The permitted form of attribution must be agreed upon before substantive information is shared.

 

Off the record
Information provided off the record may not be published or attributed based solely on that conversation. It may help the newsroom identify questions, documents, or other sources, but information independently obtained elsewhere may still be reported.

An off-the-record agreement must be explicit. A source cannot ordinarily impose it after information has already been shared.

Confidential source
A confidential source is known to one or more authorized Paraluman News personnel, but the newsroom has agreed not to publish or voluntarily reveal the person’s identity except under the terms of this policy.

Anonymous source
An anonymous source is not identified to the public in a published report.

A source who is anonymous to readers may still be known to the reporter, editor, communications provider, website operator, or another intermediary. Public anonymity is not the same as technical anonymity.

Anonymous to the newsroom
A person is anonymous to the newsroom when Paraluman News does not know the person’s identity. This may limit our ability to assess credibility, ask follow-up questions, verify evidence, understand possible motives, or publish the information.

Secure channel
A secure channel is a communication method approved by Paraluman News for sensitive source contact after a documented technical and operational review.
“Secure” does not mean risk-free, immune from legal process, or guaranteed to conceal every participant or item of metadata.

Paraluman News will apply the following principles when working with sources:

Public interest
We will use confidential sourcing when it serves a legitimate and substantial public interest and when the information cannot reasonably be obtained on the record.

Confidentiality must not be used merely to avoid accountability, spread rumors, conduct personal attacks, manipulate coverage, or give unsupported claims an appearance of credibility.

 

Informed agreements
Ground rules should be discussed before substantive information is shared. Reporters must explain, as clearly as circumstances permit:

• Whether information may be published;

• How the source may be described;

• Who inside the newsroom may know the source’s identity;

• What contact methods will be used;

• What risks cannot be eliminated; and

• What circumstances could threaten confidentiality.

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Reporters must not casually promise anonymity, permanent secrecy, deletion, immunity from investigation, legal protection, or protection from retaliation.

Data minimization
We will collect, copy, retain, and share only the identifying information reasonably needed for reporting, verification, safety, editorial review, legal review, or accountability.

Need-to-know access
Access to a confidential source’s identity and identifying material will be limited to authorized people with a legitimate editorial, safety, legal, privacy, or technical need to know.

 

Ordinarily, the reporter and at least one responsible editor should know the source’s identity before confidential information is published. An exception may be approved by the Managing Editor when revealing the source even within the newsroom would create a disproportionate risk and the information can still be responsibly verified.

Independent verification

Confidentiality does not reduce our verification obligations. We will assess:

• How the source knows the information;

• Whether the source has direct access or firsthand knowledge;

• The source’s credibility and history of reliability;

• Possible personal, political, financial, institutional, or other motives;

• Whether documents and media are authentic and complete;

• Whether important details can be corroborated independently; and

• Whether evidence contradicting the source’s account exists.

A tip is not proof. Submission does not guarantee investigation, publication, removal of existing content, or a particular editorial conclusion.

Proportionate protection

Protective measures will reflect the seriousness and likelihood of harm. A source facing inconvenience or embarrassment may require different safeguards from a whistleblower facing surveillance, dismissal, prosecution, violence, or threats to family members.

Independence

Sources may provide information and raise factual concerns, but they may not purchase, direct, approve, suppress, or control Paraluman News coverage.

We do not pay sources for confidential information, allegations, favorable statements, access to evidence, or testimony. Legitimate reimbursement for an approved reporting expense must not be used to buy information or influence an account.

A person considering a sensitive submission should assess personal risk before making first contact.

Where possible:

• Do not contact us from a workplace, school, government, organizational, or shared device if its administrators may monitor activity;

• Do not use an email account, telephone, messaging account, cloud account, or network controlled by the institution involved in the tip;

• Do not use a device that another person can routinely unlock, inspect, or back up;

• Do not discuss the submission unnecessarily with colleagues, friends, classmates, or other possible witnesses;

• Avoid including identifying details that are not necessary for the newsroom to understand the issue;

• Consider whether documents contain names, account information, revision histories, serial numbers, hidden metadata, location data, printer markings, or other identifying features;

• Do not endanger yourself or another person to obtain information;

• Do not trespass, steal, hack, impersonate someone, bypass security controls, or commit another unlawful act at the request of Paraluman News; and

• Obtain independent legal or digital-security advice when the possible consequences are serious.

Paraluman News cannot provide legal representation merely because someone submits a tip. Nothing on this page is personal legal advice.

A person facing an immediate threat to life or safety should contact an appropriate emergency or protection service. Paraluman News is not an emergency-response organization, and tip channels may not be monitored continuously.

A useful tip ordinarily explains:

 

• What happened;

• When and where it happened;

• Who was involved;

• How the source knows;

• Why the matter is important to the public;

• Whether the issue is continuing;

• What documents, recordings, photographs, video, records, or witnesses may support the account;

• What efforts have already been made to report or resolve the issue;

• Whether another newsroom, authority, employer, school, organization, or person has received the same information;

• What retaliation or safety risk may exist; and

• Whether and how the source may be contacted.

Sources should distinguish clearly among:

• Events personally witnessed;

• Information learned from another person;

• Documents reviewed;

• Conclusions or suspicions;

• Rumors; and

• Information that remains uncertain.

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A source should not send unnecessary personal data about uninvolved people. Government identifiers, passwords, financial credentials, medical records, private addresses, intimate images, or information about children should be included only when genuinely necessary to establish the public-interest issue.

When a tip appears sensitive, the receiving journalist or editor should:

• Avoid forwarding or copying it through unnecessary channels;

• Inform a responsible editor as soon as reasonably possible;

• Assess the possible threat to the source, other people, and the newsroom;

• Move further communication to an approved channel when doing so may reduce risk;

• Record the agreed ground rules;

• Separate identifying information from working reporting material where practical;

• Limit access to authorized personnel;

• Develop a verification and publication plan that accounts for source safety;

• Seek legal, privacy, or digital-security advice where appropriate; and

• Reassess risk when circumstances change.

Paraluman News personnel must not store highly sensitive source information only in personal accounts, personal cloud storage, unapproved messaging services, or unapproved artificial-intelligence systems.

Confidential source identities, unpublished investigations, private personal data, legally protected material, and security-sensitive documents must not be entered into a public or unapproved generative-AI system.

Paraluman News may grant confidentiality or public anonymity when:

 

• The information concerns a matter of legitimate and substantial public interest;

• The source has direct knowledge or reliable access;

• Identification would create a credible risk of retaliation, danger, legal pressure, or other serious harm;

• The information cannot reasonably be obtained on the record;

• The source’s identity, access, credibility, interests, and possible motives have been assessed;

• Material claims can be corroborated to an appropriate degree; and

• A senior editor approves the arrangement.

Anonymity should remain the exception rather than the default.

Where safety permits, a published report using an unnamed source should:

 

• Describe the source as specifically and accurately as possible;

• Explain why anonymity was granted;

• Give readers enough context to assess the source’s access and credibility;

• Avoid a description that exposes the source through unnecessary detail; and

• Avoid using “sources” when only one source exists.

Paraluman News will not knowingly publish a source’s name, image, voice, exact job title, school, workplace, location, account identifier, or other identifying detail contrary to an agreed confidentiality arrangement.

Consent to identify a source must be informed and specific. Permission to contact a source is not permission to publish the source’s identity. Permission to publish a name is not automatically permission to publish a photograph, private address, contact information, family details, medical information, or other personal data.

Before publication, Paraluman News ordinarily gives a person or institution facing a credible and potentially damaging allegation a meaningful opportunity to respond.

A request for comment may create a risk that the subject will infer who provided the information. The reporter and editor should therefore consider:

• The timing of the request;

• How much detail must be disclosed for a fair response;

• Whether documents can be described without revealing their origin;

• Whether multiple sources or public records can reduce identification risk;

• Whether a delay, change in phrasing, or additional corroboration would improve safety; and

• Whether the source should be warned before the request is sent.

Source protection does not permit Paraluman News to publish an allegation unfairly, omit decisive context, fabricate corroboration, or deny a subject a reasonable opportunity to respond merely because obtaining the response is inconvenient.

A confidential source may be invited to check a quotation, date, technical detail, or other factual point. The source is not entitled to approve, rewrite, suppress, or control the final report.

Files can contain information that identifies their creator, owner, editor, device, account, location, organization, or transmission history.

When handling sensitive material, Paraluman News will, where appropriate:

 

• Preserve an evidentiary copy while restricting access to it;

• Create a separate working copy with unnecessary identifying information removed;

• Record who received, accessed, copied, edited, or transferred particularly sensitive material;

• Examine documents and media for authenticity, completeness, manipulation, and relevant metadata;

• Avoid exposing source identifiers in screenshots, captions, filenames, hyperlinks, document properties, or downloadable attachments;

• Use an isolated or appropriately protected environment to examine suspicious files;

• Avoid unnecessarily uploading sensitive material to third-party transcription, translation, storage, editing, analytics, or AI services; and

• Consult a senior editor or qualified specialist before publishing hacked, leaked, restricted, or unlawfully obtained material.

A source should not alter an original document in a way that destroys information needed to establish authenticity. A person concerned about metadata or identification should make first contact through the safest available channel before transmitting the document.

Paraluman News may decline to receive, retain, open, or publish material that presents an unacceptable security, legal, ethical, privacy, or safety risk.

Additional care is required when a source is:

• Under 18;

• A survivor of sexual violence, trafficking, abuse, exploitation, or harassment;

• Displaced, detained, hospitalized, or in institutional care;

• Experiencing a serious medical or mental-health crisis;

• Subject to coercive control;

• At risk because of disability, immigration status, poverty, discrimination, or social exclusion; or

• Unable to understand fully the consequences of participation.

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The source’s welfare takes priority over obtaining dramatic or exclusive material.

Depending on the circumstances, Paraluman News may require senior editorial review, safeguarding advice, legal advice, consent from a parent or guardian, or another protective measure.

 

Parental or guardian involvement will not automatically be required when that person is implicated in the alleged abuse, would place the source at greater risk, or would defeat a legitimate public-interest purpose. Any exception requires senior editorial consideration focused on the child’s safety and best interests.

We will avoid publishing details that could enable identification through a combination of age, school, neighborhood, family relationship, image, voice, uniform, location, or unusual circumstances.

Paraluman News will retain source-related information only for as long as reasonably necessary for legitimate journalistic, verification, safety, legal, accountability, security, archival, or dispute-resolution purposes.

Retention decisions should consider:

 

• The sensitivity of the information;

• The likelihood and severity of harm if it is exposed;

• Whether the reporting is active;

• Whether follow-up reporting is reasonably expected;

• Whether the material is needed to support published work;

• Whether a complaint, correction, legal claim, investigation, or preservation obligation exists;

• Whether identifying details can be separated, minimized, anonymized, or securely deleted; and

• The public-interest or historical value of the record.

A source may ask Paraluman News to stop contacting them, correct personal information, change a communication method, or consider deleting identifying material. Requests should be reviewed promptly and sensitively.

Deletion cannot be guaranteed. Paraluman News may need to retain information to verify or defend reporting, meet a legal obligation, preserve an accurate editorial record, investigate misconduct, respond to a complaint, protect another person, or comply with a lawful preservation requirement.

No employee may destroy, conceal, alter, or instruct a source to destroy relevant material for the purpose of obstructing a lawful investigation, court process, regulatory process, or internal review.

A confidential source’s identity must not be shared merely because it is requested by:

• A public official or government office;

• Police or another investigative authority;

• A school, university, employer, company, or organization;

• An advertiser, sponsor, donor, owner, officer, or business partner;

• A person criticized or investigated in our reporting;

• Another journalist or news organization;

• A family member or associate of the source; or

• A member of the public.

Any proposed disclosure requires review by the Managing Editor and appropriate legal advice.

Where disclosure is authorized or legally required, Paraluman News will seek to limit it to the minimum information necessary and to the smallest appropriate group of recipients.

Philippine law provides protections in defined circumstances against compelling qualifying journalists and media practitioners to reveal sources who supplied information in confidence. Republic Act No. 11458 expanded the coverage of Republic Act No. 53, as amended, to include a wider range of journalists and electronic mass media. Section 5 of the Data Privacy Act also preserves statutory protections afforded to journalists and their sources. These protections have conditions and exceptions and do not eliminate possible civil or criminal liability.

Because the legal protection available may depend on the person, organization, medium, information, manner of communication, publication status, and nature of the demand, Paraluman News cannot promise that every source identity or item of unpublished material will be legally immune from disclosure, search, seizure, or compulsory process.

 

When Paraluman News receives a subpoena, warrant, court order, legislative demand, regulatory request, law-enforcement request, or other attempt to obtain confidential source information, we will, as appropriate:

• Refer the matter immediately to the Managing Editor and legal counsel;

• Verify the authority, scope, and validity of the demand;

• Consider lawful grounds to resist, challenge, narrow, stay, or appeal it;

• Avoid voluntary disclosure beyond what is legally required;

• Seek protective measures where available;

• Consider the safety and rights of the source and other affected people;

• Notify the source before disclosure when lawful, reasonably possible, and not likely to increase the risk; and

• Document the decision and the information disclosed.

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Paraluman News will not direct a source to ignore a lawful obligation or provide personal legal advice. A source concerned about exposure, employment consequences, criminal liability, contractual restrictions, or whistleblower protection should consult an independent lawyer.

A suspected loss, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, compromise, or destruction of source-related information must be reported immediately to the Managing Editor, Data Protection Officer, and designated security personnel.

Paraluman News will:

 

• Take reasonable steps to contain the incident;

• Preserve necessary evidence;

• Assess what information and people may be affected;

• Consider the likelihood and severity of harm;

• Revoke or restrict compromised access where appropriate;

• Seek technical and legal assistance;

• Take steps to prevent recurrence;

• Follow applicable data-protection and breach-notification requirements; and

• Inform an affected source when legally required or when notification would materially help reduce harm, subject to lawful and safety-related considerations.

Philippine privacy rules require organizations to maintain security safeguards and incident-management procedures for personal information. Depending on the nature of a breach, notification and reporting duties may apply.

When notification itself could expose a confidential source or worsen a threat, Paraluman News will seek appropriate legal advice on the safest lawful timing, content, and method of communication.

A source who believes this policy or a confidentiality agreement has been violated may contact:

Editorial concern: desk@myparaluman.ph
Subject line: Source Protection Concern

Privacy or legal concern: legal@myparaluman.ph
Subject line: Confidential Source Privacy Concern

A complaint should include only the information necessary to identify the matter. A source who remains at risk should not resend sensitive documents through ordinary email solely to make a complaint.

 

Where practical, a complaint will be reviewed by a senior person who was not primarily responsible for the disputed conduct. Access to the complaint will be restricted according to need.

 

Paraluman News personnel must report any suspected:

• Unauthorized disclosure of a source;

• Violation of agreed ground rules;

• Insecure storage or transfer of source information;

• Improper pressure on a source;

• Attempt to identify a protected source without legitimate editorial authority;

• Retaliation against a staff member for raising a source-protection concern; or

• Concealment of a security incident.

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A serious or deliberate violation may result in restricted access, reassignment, additional training, disciplinary action, termination of a commission or working relationship, or referral for legal or regulatory review.

Paraluman News will review this policy periodically and whenever there is a significant change in:

 

• Philippine law or regulatory guidance;

• Newsroom technology or service providers;

• Available secure-communication tools;

• The design of the Submit a Tip page;

• Data-retention or incident-response procedures;

• The newsroom’s staffing or governance; or

• Recognized source-protection and digital-security practice.

Any secure channel listed on this page should be tested regularly. Obsolete usernames, keys, fingerprints, telephone numbers, QR codes, instructions, or submission addresses must be removed or replaced promptly.

Material revisions will be reflected in the Last reviewed date. When a change significantly affects how sources should contact us or how their information will be handled, Paraluman News will explain the change clearly and prominently.

Questions about this policy may be sent to desk@myparaluman.ph. Privacy questions may be sent to legal@myparaluman.ph.

Our obligation is not merely to receive information. It is to pursue the truth responsibly while recognizing that the people who help bring important facts to light may entrust us with their safety, livelihood, privacy, and confidence.