Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said there was no excuse for action of a police general who snatched the mobile phone of GMA-7 reporter Jun Veneracion during the Traslacion of the Black Nazarene in Manila last Thursday.
“He [Southern Police District chief Police Brigadier General Nolasco Bathan] should not have done that,” Año said, adding that he will order a probe on the incident.
“Even if it was not Jun Veneracion, even if it was just an ordinary person, you cannot just snatch someone’s phone. That is not among the actions that can be taken by a police officer,” he added.
Veneracion captured on video a policeman manhandling a Black Nazarene devotee along Ayala Bridge, which in turn apparently prompted Bathan to snatch the latter’s phone.
Bathan returned the phone after about 20 minutes and apologized, but insisted he thought the journalist was “someone who poses threat during the procession.”
Veneracion’s video was already in the “Recently Deleted” album when his phone was returned to him.
The Commission on Human Rights likewise strongly condemned the unnecessary force exhibited by law enforcers against the devotee, as well as Bathan’s action.
“The use of excessive force was unnecessary, and the latter can be considered suppression of the freedom of the press,” said CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia.
De Guia said Traslacion is a public event where the police are assigned “to protect the people and to de-escalate situations that could lead to violence.”
“The Filipino people deserve to be made aware of incidents that prove otherwise. The media has a responsibility to inform the public. Active threats and suppression of the press are not actions indicative of a healthy police force, and this type of behavior must be nipped at the bud,” she said.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has asked the PNP to penalize Bathan for abuse of authority.
“It was clearly abuse of authority that Director Bathan committed when he snatched the mobile phone and ordered photos and footage the journalist had taken deleted. Worse, he tried to justify his actions with a barefaced lie,” the NUJP said in a statement.