A SENATOR on Thursday called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to be "transparent" about its operations by showing its spot reports to the Senate and to reporters.
Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino said it has been a practice among journalists, even in the past, to ask for a spot report as their basis for writing their stories.
"Are they hiding something?" asked the senator.
PNP officials said spot reports form part of an investigation that may not be disclosed to media, unless with a permission of the headquarters.
Aquino said he expects PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa to comply with his earlier commitment to give senators a copy of the PNP’s spot reports, especially on cases of alleged extrajudicial killings and deaths outside police operations.
Aquino said journalists are responsible enough to handle confidential information contained in the spot reports.
In addition, Aquino said the PNP’s directive to withhold spot reports from the media contradicts President Rodrigo Duterte’s push for transparency through the Freedom of Information (FOI) in government. (SunStar Philippines)