Police worry of the safety of journalists in ops
The safety of reporters and the preservation of the crime scene are two of the concerns raised by a high-ranking official of Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), after President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement to tag along media in the police’s antiillegal dru
Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IDMB) Chief Ryan Devaras emphasized that a pre-operations briefing has to be done, to equip the members of the media.
“Of course naa tay i-conduct nga security preparations. Ang media is vulnerable also just like sa atong police nga exposed sa threat sa operation. We just coordinate with the media personnel to brief them with the operation para di pud maalanganin,” Devaras said.
Devaras also cautioned reporters to be mindful in preserving the crime scene.
“Well, as long as dili sila maka-violate sa procedure sa crime scene. Number one para mapreserve nato ang crime scene. Also ang security sa media practitioners. Dapat maghimo ta og protocol kung unsaon nato pagaddress nga system,” Devaras said.
Arnold Bustamante, a journalist who has covered different law enforcement agencies for 17 years, and president of the Cebubased media beat Defense Philippine National Police Press Corps, said that it will show transparency and clear out allegations thrown against policemen, over issues of extrajudicial killings.
“I agree (with) President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that mediamen should be involved in drug operations of the police. This is to show transparency on the operation or raid done by the police,” Bustamante said.
However, he stressed the importance of precautionary measures, to avoid being one of the casualties during operations. He said that reporters should only be allowed to cover at an approximate distance, and can only come close after it’s cleared.
“But, we need to make sure that reporters will have extra precautionary measures. First, reporters should make sure that areas are clear to avoid confusion in the operation. Second, reporter should have a protective gear like bullet proof vest in case they will fire a shot,” Bustamante said.
Devaras recommended that media practitioners supply their own bulletproof vests, since some policemen are sometimes called to supply their own gear, due to monetary constraints.
“I guess the media people should also provide their own also kay kami gani mismo sa PNP nagprovide mi og sarili namo nga vest for protection also kay kuwang man ang amoang mga protective gears. Sa helmet ug vest,” Devaras said.
He assured though that CCPO will formulate operational procedures to ensure that anti-narcotics crackdown will succeed smoothly without casualties from the involved parties.
“Mo-formulate ta og procedures. Trabaho gud na ninyo nga mo-cover og police operations but again i-observe lang nato ang safety kay delikado na madisgrasya,” Devaras said.
Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 Director Jose Mario Espino, thru his spokesperson Senior Inspector Jeciree Saquilabon-Basitao, said they would abide by Duterte’s pronouncement.
“Welcome ra sya sa statement ni President Duterte. Ang problema lang daw, kay ang availability sa media,” Basitao said.
Duterte’s pronouncement stemmed from the recent Senate investigation in which Police Director General Ronald Dela Rosa cried about the continued backlash over the issue on extrajudicial killings.