Media not the enemy - NUJP

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines on Thursday called on the National Police to stop treating journalists who covered the Makati standoff as enemies of the state. "We protest in strongest terms the PNP's move to forcibly bring some journalists to the National Capital Region Police Office in Bicutan and condemn the confiscation of video footage of the day-long stand-off at the Manila Peninsula Hotel," the NUJP said in a statement. The group also denounced the "overkill" that led to the tying of the hands of some members of the media "in what looked like a virtual arrest." "The explanation by police officials and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro that the move was made to prevent the escape of Magdalo troops does not wash," the NUJP said. The group said the journalists in the field have superiors who could have been asked to verify the identities of members of the media. "And, certainly, there is no reason police officials would be ignorant of the identities of reporters Pinky Webb and Ces Drilon," the NUJP statement said. The group urged the police to follow legal procedures. "Invitations to questioning should be differentiated from coercion; journalists have the option to accept the invitation and, certainly, should be accorded the basic right to counsel," the NUJP said. The group added: "While journalists' refusal to leave The Pen when ordered by the cops could have jeopardized their lives, live footage of the Pen standoff showed they did not block authorities from doing their tasks. Nor is their little to support suspicions that media showed bias for Trillanes and company; if anything the rebels complained about media's alleged bias for government." The NUJP said it is "regrettable" that a day that would have given the government a clear-cut political victory would be marred by "knee-jerk reactions" of the authorities. - GMANews.TV