Saturday, August 02, 2008 Journalists warned on covering Armm polls
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) said it is not imposing restrictions or sanctions on journalists who will cover the August 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), which includes the Abu Sayyaf-infested provinces of Basilan and Sulu.
PNP Chief Avelino Razon Jr. issued the statement in the wake of series of kidnapping perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan and Sulu, including a television crew and a professor in June in the outskirts of Sulu.
"We are not limiting any area for media coverage, but journalists have to coordinate to proper authorities so we can provide security for them," Razon told reporters in an interview at the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame.
Razon said at least 4,000 policemen would be deployed for the Armm elections to provide protection for media practitioners. Incidentally, the election features Indanan Mayor Alvarez Isnaji, a principal suspect in the kidnapping of the ABS-CBN news team, as gubernatorial candidate.
Earlier, Armed Forces Chief Alexander Yano said the military is not also imposing restrictions against journalists in the elections, adding that this may be interpreted by some sectors as infringement of the constitutional right of the media.
Razon also said security forces continue preparing for the elections despite calls by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to postpone the Armm elections in view of the ongoing peace process. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has supported moves to reset the elections.
"In connection with the Armm elections, there is no change in our preparations; we are continuing with our preparations. We are still assuming that the Armm elections will push through. We are preparing for the conduct of the Armm elections where this will later be postponed," he said.
When asked about the number of policemen who will be tapped to secure the elections, Razon said: "What I know is that we have 4,000 policemen to be augmented by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) but I don't know how many soldiers will be deployed by the military."
The PNP chief said they have identified a number of election hotspots but failed to give figures. "We have identified some hotspots and we are continuing with our monitoring but I cannot recall for now (the number) and enumerate these areas," he said. (VR/Sunnex)
