WE, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), condemns in the strongest term the barring of at least 20 members of the Davao media from covering the Philippine Development Forum (PDF) on the Bangsamoro on November 6, Thursday.
It was, by all measure, disrespectful for the Office of the President to invite journalists to cover an important event and later shame them by disallowing entry to the forum where the President himself was to deliver a speech on the government’s efforts to ensure the progress of the Bangsamoro and the people of Mindanao.
The act was a form of harassment of the members of the Fourth State whose only intention was to cover the forum. It was, as the same time, a classic act of clipping media freedom by a government that supposedly banners transparency and accountability.
The Palace offered no explanations yet. However, a member of the Malacanang Media Accreditation and Relations Office (Maro) was only heard saying there were too many journalists covering the event already.
What was appalling was the fact that while Malacanang prevented Davao journalists from entering the venue, it allowed a group of journalists from Manila, the members of the Department of Finance Press Corps easy access.
What happened Thursday was not the first time. Malacanang did the same thing in September – also victimizing Davao journalists.
Malacanang’s handling of the media on Thursday took a bizarre twist when the other Davao journalists were finally allowed entry, but stopped Davao Today photojournalist Ace Morandante.
We also demand an explanation from the Office of the President why it singled out Morandante despite the proper accreditation and endorsement given to him from the Philippine Information Office, the state’s information arm.
It is disconcerting to think that the proclivity of the Aquino administration to treat media with disrespect is becoming one of the bad habits of the Aquino administration.
Why, we ask, would the Aquino administration do this to the media?
We take this as a symptom of a plague that hit the psyche of the administration – paranoia.
And we ask — what kind of government is afraid of its people?
It’s only the government who failed to address the killing of journalists and perpetrated the reign of impunity in the country, the kind of government who failed to deliver justice to the 58 people, 32 of them journalists killed in the carnage known in the whole world as the Ampatuan massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao five years ago.
The local media black-out perpetrated by Malacanang is more ironic considering that the event talked about Mindanao, specifically about an already discriminated sector in the island-the Moro people.
We can only surmise that the Aquino government is more interested in cover-up and secrecy rather than transparency over what should have been an important affair that every Mindanaoan has the right to know.
This violation of the freedom of the press must end.
JESSIE CASALDA
Chairperson
NUJP Davao City
nujpdavao@gmail.com
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