Reporter Harassed by Police in Philippines

April 11, 2012

Reporter Harassed by Police in Philippines

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in its concern regarding reports that a journalist was harassed by police in Olongapo City, in Philippines’ Zamales Province, on April 3, 2012.

According to an NUJP report, Mahatma Randy Datu, a correspondent for the daily tabloid Pilipino Star Ngayon, was harassed by Olongapo City Police Director Christopher Tambungan while covering a 12 hour hostage situation.

Based on Datu’s account to the NUJP, he arrived in the area after other media practitioners had already begun covering the hostage taking. A police officer subsequently asked for media personnel to initiate communications with the hostage taker, upon the latter’s request.

In response to the officer’s request, Datu and a number of other journalists entered the compound which was the scene of the hostage-taking.

It is alleged that Datu was singled out for attention by Police Director Tambungan, who challenged Datu’s right to be there and, grabbing him by the shoulder, forced him out of the compound. As Datu exited through the compound gate, he claims he felt a strong shove in his back that almost caused him to fall to the ground.

“It is alarming to see that police officers will threaten and harass journalists who are simply engaged in reporting legitimate news stories,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“The IFJ calls for a full investigation to be conducted into the complaints lodged by the journalist, with a view to ensuring these threats are not repeated.”

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries

Find the IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific

Find the IFJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/IFJAsiaPacific

ENDS

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