Monday, December 10, 2007 Davao Oriental cop chief sides with media on Manila Pen incident
DAVAO Oriental police director Sr. Supt. Jimmy Manabat expressed his sympathy to the journalists who were arrested by police authorities during the Manila Peninsula incident two weeks ago.
Manabat said the way his colleagues (PNP) in Manila have treated the media covering the standoff in the Manila Pennisula Hotel was "definitely wrong."
"We should not treat the media that way. Handcuffing them is a big mistake. They (police authorities) should have done the verification (of the journalists' identities) right inside the hotel and not to handcuff them before the public. That's very wrong," said Manabat who is a product of the Philippine Military Academy.
"You know I was fuming when I saw it in the television. We should always be circumspect all of the time; these journalists must be respected. They should not have been handcuffed," he added.
Manabat said there is a need for his fellow policemen to understand the workings of the press "so that this bad incident will not be repeated, so that there will be mutual respect."
The police action on handcuffing and arresting the more than 30 journalists who were inside the hotel during the siege was widely criticized by many sectors calling it an overkill and violation of the press freedom right. (with FZ)
