The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it will meet with media groups to thresh out security measures aimed at protecting them from various threats in the wake of the killing of radio commentator Percival Mabasa earlier this month.
DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. made this statement after lawmakers and various media groups expressed concern over surprise visits by police to the homes of some journalists.
He said the Philippine National Police (PNP), which is under the DILG, was committed to providing security to journalists under threat and invited press groups to discuss such measures.
Abalos added that a letter has been drafted and addressed to various media networks and organizations and would be distributed in the coming days.
Over the weekend, GMA-7 broadcast journalist JP Soriano said on his Twitter account that a man who identified himself as a police officer visited his residence.
Soriano said he called Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro and confirmed that police officers were knocking on media workers’ doors to check for threats.
He also found out that another journalist had called the local chief executive as cops also visited his home.
“This is a clear violation of the [Data] Privacy Act. If the PNP really wants to coordinate with or check on us, this should be done at our office, not at our homes,” Soriano said.
Abalos said he has talked to Soriano and apologized to the members of the media over the alarm caused by the incident.
He has ordered the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) to go through the proper channels to reach out to media workers instead of going to their residences.
The DILG chief also talked to NCRPO chief Brig. Gen. Jonnel Estomo and told him to apologize and stop the house-to-house visit of cops to media personnel.
Meanwhile, the PNP said it would come up with more specific guidelines on how authorities should reach out to media practitioners.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the order for policemen to strengthen their coordination with media workers in their areas of jurisdiction came following the killing of veteran radio host Percival Mabasa also known as Percy Lapid.
Fajardo said that there was actually “nothing wrong” regarding the house visits.
She, however, clarified that there was no direct order from the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame or with the regional director for authorities to conduct security checks on the residences of journalists.
Fajardo said that the instruction was to coordinate with media personalities to find out if they have received any threats as well.
“There was no direct instruction or directive coming from the national headquarters to hold a house visitation for our friends from the media,” she said. “What happened in the other areas, we can only presume, there had been a different interpretation on how to proceed with the coordination with the media practitioners in their areas of jurisdiction,” she added in Filipino.
Fajardo also said PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. has already ordered an investigation into the matter and gave instructions to conduct corrective measures.
“We are not making excuses. Indeed, there was something wrong with the procedure. The intention was good, and the efforts are good, but coordination should have first been done or probably the village officials should have been with them. The PNP had ordered that this practice be stopped until such time there is a dialogue and specific guidelines from the PNP to ensure that this will not happen again,” she added.
Meanwhile, Col. Wilson Asueta, acting director of the Eastern Police District (EPD) issued an apology on Sunday to the members of the media over the incident.
Asueta said the objective of the visits was to get information so they can anticipate their possible actions and offer counter-measures in case the media personnel have threats and regularly travels.
He also said the house visits were not for surveillance purposes.
But the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives on Monday sought a congressional inquiry into the conduct of police visits to the residences of journalists.
The group led by House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro asked in a resolution that the House committee on human rights investigate the matter.
The resolution cited “a violation of the right to privacy of the journalists against unauthorized or illegal access to and disclosure and use of their personal information.”
Section 12 of Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 specified the conditions that should be met so that the personal information of an individual can be processed, the resolution stated.
“These so-called house visits, occurring in the context of other threats and attacks against journalists (17 in the past three months, per NUJP’s count), have the effect of increasing, without due cause
and process, police presence near journalists and produce rife opportunities for surveillance on them, thereby casting a shadow of unease, if not fear, upon their vital duties in the delivery of information to the public,” the resolution stated.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a noted human rights lawyer, appealed to the police authorities to refrain from violating people’s privacy.
“Crusading journalists need police protection from threats and harm, not police intrusion into their privacy,” Lagman said in a statement.
Lagman said the recent unannounced visits of police officers, mostly in plainclothes, to the homes and studios of selected broadcasters were reminiscent of the intrusive and illicit “Operation Tokhang” on drug suspects.
“These veiled harassments must be stopped as they constitute attempts at prior restraint on the freedom of expression,” Lagman said.
Also on Monday, the Commission on Human Rights lauded the National Capital Region Police Office move to stop police visits to the homes of journalists.
It reminded law enforcement officers that ensuring media safety necessitates a careful balance in respecting individual and collective rights.
“Media security is best pursued through regular coordination with their respective organizations, as well as journalist groups, to institutionalize efforts protecting media freedom and safety,” it said.
“In this way, members of the media are aware of what to expect and what law enforcement agencies can commit as a means to level off and further improve on protocols as necessary,” it said.