Media security : PRO-7 sets programs for journalists against threats
Police Brigadier General Roderick Augustus Alba, PRO-7 director
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) has set programs for media security.
Police Brigadier General Roderick Augustus Alba, PRO-7 director, said that he already directed his personnel to meet with the journalists here and talk about the issues and concerns that they had, and more importantly if the latter had received death threats, and might it be in line with the nature of the job of journalists or their personal affairs.
Alba said that those concerned individuals might communicate with the chief of police immediately regarding this concern.
The national headquarters has also ordered the police units here to designate an information officer that will cater to reported threats that journalists may encounter.
READ: CCPO ready to provide media security as 2022 election nears
Alba also highlighted that PRO-7 would be transparent in their functions, ensuring that their actions would not risk their police investigation as releasing premature information to the public might jeopardize their ongoing probe.
“Sa lahat ng chief of police, I want them to be transparent. A talking commander…As to giving information, this is case to case,” he added.
Regarding the issue on home visits that happened in the National Capital Region, which stirred media unease, Alba, for his part, said that to avoid a similar issue to happen again, they would not implement the home visits here
He said that he would instead just channel this to the Press Corp and would have a dialogue with its members.
READ: Cop’s visit to journalist’s home stirs media unease
The issue on media security and home visits by policemen was opened up after a Twitter post of JP Soriano of GMA TV last Saturday, where Soriano said that a police officer, who was in plain clothes, went to his house unannounced and checked about his security.
The policeman showed himself properly to Soriano and even handed an identification card saying that the police officer wanted to see and ask if he received threats recently following the attacks on journalists, including the case of slain Percy Lapid last Oct. 3.
The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, for their part, said that the visits would only “add to our anxiety as these were done without coordination with newsrooms.”
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