A GOVERNMENT official proposed that members of the media should have the option to arm themselves.
As part of the safety of media practitioners during coverage, Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco, executive director of Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), said that arming journalists is not a necessity but should be an option.
“This is not a policy, this is my personal advocacy,” Egco said during an interview with reporters on October 26, at the Mindanao Media Safety and Security Summit.
“You need to arm yourselves not with weapons but with training,” he said, adding that owning a weapon is not enough to protect one's self in times of danger and that arming one's self is not the solution to the problem but should be an option.
“Why do we call policemen in times of trouble is because they have guns, otherwise, barangay tanod, masaya ka na,” he said.
Meanwhile, Egco pointed out that data showed that more and more media practitioners are applying for gun ownership and were attending fun shoots and other training for self-defense.
“I have known many journalists who have been with us ever since na dati ay walang baril na ngayon ay nagpapatulong na sa akin kumuha na ng baril (that do not own guns but now have been asking for my help to obtain one),” Egco said, adding that the task force has been conducting caravans.
“Ang (The) necessity dito ay ang (here is the) training,” he added.
Egco added that with the declaration of martial law in Mindanao, killings and threats to journalists are hopefully be mitigated especially that the 2019 election is coming.
“I think that dahil may martial law, somehow, mami-mitigate. So yung fear namin sa task force na baka tumaas, sana ma-mitigate sa Mindanao area because of martial law,” Egco said, referring to the data of killings and threats of journalists.