THE National Union of Journalists of the Philippines stands with colleagues from Radyo Abante-San Juanico TV who are seeking accountability over the July 14 incident in Pastrana, Leyte involving police sergeants Rhea Mae and Ver Baleos and several other members of the police.
We acknowledge and appreciate prompt action by the Presidential Task Force on Media Security and the provincial police on the incident but disagree that our colleagues' filing a case over the manhandling of a member of the press on coverage is meant to "embarrass the [Philippine National Police] and sow hatred and fear of the authorities at the local level."
From initial details, the incident seems more a case of police personnel using their position in a personal land dispute, which would be a bigger source of embarrassment for the PNP.
The series of incidents in Leyte shows the level of impunity that has to be addressed in terms of attacks on the media. That our colleagues continue to be subjected to surveillance and harassment indicates the audacity of the perpetrators.
We challenge authorities to support moves to hold perpetrators accountable instead of sweeping these incidents under the rug.
Filing a case is not "exploiting the situation" as some are suggesting, but a right that our colleagues are free to exercise.
Our colleagues, whose work has been hampered by the tension over an incident that they did not instigate, have little to gain from filing the case but justice and their peace of mind.
We commend our colleagues from San Juanico TV for standing firm on their rights despite pressure to drop the matter and call on the media community to monitor and report developments in this case. (National Union of Journalists of the Philippines)