THE Presidential Security Group on Tuesday apologized for temporarily barring reporters from entering Malacañang, citing the heightened security that was implemented for the Labor Day holiday.
Labor groups on Tuesday converged in various venues for their annual Labor Day protests to demand higher pay and an end to contractualization.
“Because it’s Labor Day we are anticipating protest rallies here in Mendiola, so we are on heightened alert,” PSG Chief of Staff Col. Potenciano Camba said.
“We did not expect that there would be a lot of members of the MPC [Malacañang Press Corps] entering. If there was an inconvenience, we apologize.”
Camba denied there was an order to bar the reporters, saying the incident could have been avoided if there had been proper coordination between the PSG and the media.
PSG commander Brig. Gen. Lope Dagoy described what happened as a simple case of “misunderstanding.”
“There was a misunderstanding. We declared a red alert because there were reports of threats that would take place there, so we only wanted to be sure,” Dagoy said.
“Soldiers didn’t know that there would be media going there.”
In February, Rappler reporter Pia Ranada was barred from entering the New Executive Building in Malacañang, where the Palace briefings are usually held.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the online media site Rappler would be barred from entering until it resolved its ownership issue at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC earlier said Rappler violated the Constitution’s restriction on foreign ownership of local media, but Rappler said it was Filipino-owned.
