Radio reporter detained for mask offense

An angry Pinon confronted Tantoco and arrested him, confiscating his mobile phone and putting him in handcuffs

Media members covering the City of Manila are up in arms against the maltreatment a Radyo Pilipinas broadcaster experienced from a member of Police Station 10 (PS10) of the Manila Police District (MPD) at a checkpoint in Beata, Pandacan on Friday afternoon.

Lorenz Tantoco, a regular radio program anchor of Radyo Pilipinas, was driving his motorcycle along Beata Pass to an appointment with his dentist.

At a police checkpoint, he was accosted for not properly wearing his mask.

P/Lt. Joel Pinon, team leader at the checkpoint, duly checked Tantoco’s license and vehicle registration. He also presented his media ID when asked for an identification card.

As they were talking, Tantoco took out his mobile phone and decided to take a video of the line of motorcycles behind him.

An angry Pinon confronted Tantoco and arrested him, confiscating his mobile phone and putting him in handcuffs. He was then brought to the MPD-PS10 office where he was investigated. They took his mugshot and fingerprints and was kept in a detention cell for 21 hours.

When the Daily Tribune rushed to the police station the next morning, an inquiry about Tantoco’s case was met with hostility.

Tantoco was released on Saturday afternoon with no charges filed agaisnt him.

Pinon, who confronted media who went to the station to show Tantoco their support, said he was being released on the condition that the incident will not be publicized.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security under the Office of the President denounced Tantoco’s maltreatment by MPD-PS10 members.

“The media is our partner in the fight against Covid. We will not allow what some power-tripper did to Lorenz Tantoco of Radyo Pilipinas. Incendiary remarks such as ‘Walang media, media’ are uncalled for, disrespectful at the very least. Let this be a reminder to all law enforcers. There is also a law and set of rules on how to be civil and professional in dealing with people and in performing your duties. If there was abuse as claimed, then ‘No police, police’ or ‘No usec, usec’ if a law was violated,” Egco said.

“We are all equal in the eyes of the law. Be calm and polite at all times. It is not difficult to explain or to be humble. Why not do this,” he said in a Facebook post.