TWO BROADCAST journalists of a Tagum City radio station have reported to colleagues that they were questioned by police intelligence officers while on a routine visit to scour for news at the Davao del Norte police provincial office.
Reporters Erwin Batucan and Jojo Gales visited the Philippine National Police provincial office in Davao del Norte Tuesday, April 8, 2014, to gather police blotter reports from the different police field offices.
Batucan and Gales are reporters of Radyo ni Juan Tagum City 100.7 FM.
Batucan said they were told to look for the police officer of the day to get the reports and were directed to the office of the Intelligence Division where they were met by two police officers.
He said they introduced themselves and showed their identification cards to the two policemen. Batucan said the policemen refused to let them see the police blotters nor answered any questions regarding news worthy incidents that may have happened in the province. Instead, Batucan said the two of them were made to write their personal details – such as names, birthdays, addresses, the name of the owner of the station they work for, and the name of the station manager – in forms provided by the two policemen.
Batucan said they were not given any reason why they needed to write down the information. Batucan said both policemen also refrained from identifying themselves other than to say that both were intelligence officers.
He said after about 40 minutes of answering questions and writing down information, both of them were told they were free to go. The policemen, however, refused to let them see the blotters nor gave them any of the information they sought as journalists.
Batucan said he and his colleagues at the radio station have also seen unidentified motorcycle riding men observing the goings-on at the radio station at different times.
An Army spokesman had previously tagged the radio station as biased in favor of the New People’s Army.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemns and demands an immediate end to the harassment and surveillance of the personnel of Radyo ni Juan.
We likewise demand an immediate investigation and sanctions against military and police personnel who, in violation of their sworn duties, have engaged in this brazen attempt to stifle freedom of the press and of expression.
In particular, we demand the following of the Davao del Norte Provincial Police Office:
1. The immediate identification of the Intelligence Division personnel who subjected Radyo ni Juan reporters Erwin Batucan and Jojo Gales to what can only be described as illegal interrogation and detention.
2. The immediate investigation and discipline these two officers.
3. To publicly hand over to Radyo ni Juan the information illegally extracted from Batucan and Gales.
4. A notarized promise to end any and all surveillance of the radio station and its personnel.
5. An immediate public apology and a written explanation from the provincial police director to the two reporters and to other personnel of the station, and to the media community in Davao del Norte, with the assurance that no such incident will ever occur again.
We also demand that the military, in particular the Philippine Army, end its irresponsible and dangerous Red baiting against Radyo ni Juan and apologize to the station for placing the life of its personnel in mortal danger.
While the claim of an Army spokesman that the radio station was “biased” for the New People’s Army is a tired scare tactic, there is no question that such accusations uttered publicly by state agents have almost always led to violence and other abuses against the targets of vilification, if not by the security forces themselves by paramilitaries and other groups under their control.
We thus demand that the Army place this spokesman under investigation for endangering the lives of civilians in violation both of his sworn duty and of the laws of the land.
We put both the police and military units in Davao del Norte on notice that we shall hold them accountable for any harm that may befall our Radyo ni Juan colleagues as a result of their irresponsible and illegal attempts to intimidate media and curtail press freedom.
Lastly, we demand that this administration once and for all fulfill its promise to protect press freedom and ensure respect of its citizens’ basic rights.
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