THE Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) has called on the media to stay "united in the face of threats," a theme set for this year's commemoration of the 37th Press Freedom Week.
This developed after some members of the COPC found a streamer tagging the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and other activist groups as allies of the "terrorist NPA."
The streamer was draped at the foot of the monument honoring Press Freedom at the Provincial Capitol grounds in the city on Monday, May 27.
The other groups similarly branded as "terrorists" are: the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), the the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), the League of Filipino Students (LFS), the College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP), and the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage).
The streamer was set ablaze after the 7 a.m. mass, in remembrance for those who died for press freedom's sake and in thanksgiving to God for the protection and security of the living in the exercise of their media profession.
“We condemn the red-tagging of the NUJP,” said past COPC president Uriel Quilinguing, who is also a former chairman of the NUJP-Cagayan de Oro Chapter.
Quilinguing said the COPC and other media groups in Cagayan de Oro City have condemned in the strongest possible terms what they called "baseless accusations" against the NUJP.
Incumbent NUJP-Cagayan de Oro Chapter Chairperson Pamela Jay Orias, for her part, said a free press is a hallmark of a free and democratic society.
“A critical press serves the public interest and should therefore not be subjected to attacks,” Orias said.
No group has come out to claim responsibility for the red-tagging.
Despite such event, the Cagayan de Oro media groups still continued its Press Freedom celebration with several activities lined up for the week.