CMFR Alert: Philippines Threatens to Arrest Journalists Who Defy Police Orders

At the time of the arrests, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro had said that it was being done based on reports that there were Magdalo members posing as members of the media and that the government only intended to verify the identities of the media practitioners.

Maria Ressa, senior vice-president for news and current affairs of broadcast giant ABS-CBN, said that ABS-CBN “in no instance ever obstructed justice or prevented authorities from taking action in Thursday’s standoff.”

“ABS-CBN continued its live coverage because the public has a right to know,” Ressa said.

ABS-CBN, many of whose media personnel were arrested, is the biggest media conglomerate in the Philippines.

“We calculated the risks, took precautions for our team, and made the choice to stay. We did our job– to make sure that whatever actions both sides take, they are accountable to the people,” Ressa said.

After the arrests, the PNP “commanded” ABS-CBN in a 3 December 2007 letter to submit its raw footage of the 29 November standoff. Ressa said that “attempts to intimidate and harass journalists continue.”

Department of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez had himself declared earlier that the PNP can not compel ABS-CBN to release its video tapes. Gonzalez said all the PNP can hope for is for ABS-CBN to cooperate.

Various local media groups like the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, the Philippine Press Institute and the National Press Club (NPC) have issued statements condemning the arrests.

The NPC also filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights against Puno, PNP chief Avelino Razon and other police officers for the media arrests, with charges of arbitrary arrest, violation of press freedom and illegal seizure of journalists’ technical equipment.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, however, reiterated that her government “wholeheartedly uphold(s) press freedom and rule of law. We were not happy with the problem with the media involving police procedures even if it was just for a few hours,” Arroyo said in Filipino, apparently referring to the arrest and detention of the journalists and media technicians covering the event.

(CMFR with reports from inquirer.net and abs-cbnnews.com)