First Person: police beat

For six weeks I was assigned in newsroom during my internship in Sun.Star Cebu. I was tasked to help senior reporter Jill Tatoy to cover the police beat at the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO). Being an intern is like being in an adventure; you can never expect the things you would encounter in any given day.

My duty would start from Sunday until Friday. Yes, I only had Saturday as a day off. At first I found my schedule rather difficult because I needed to give up my Sundays just to be at work. But eventually I got used to it.

A normal day at work for me would start at the homicide division at the CCPO. At the homicide division, I have met some interesting people: a grieving wife because her husband was killed; some gang members who killed a member of a rival gang; and three young girls, who were younger than I am, but who seemed to be so much older, especially when they talked. The theft and robbery section would be my next stop during news gathering. The police reports from this place would be all about robbery, snatching and estafa.

At first I found the police reports nasty because of the killings and most of the time the suspects were not or could not be identified. But there was one police report that really caught my attention. It was the story of a man who killed a guy because they argued over nine pesos. That one really stuck in my mind like glue because the suspect killed the victim for refusing to pay the nine-peso fare.

Being an intern can be stressful at times. There’s always the pressure to perform at my best because if I slack off at work, I might get a word from my editor. News gathering can be tiresome sometimes, especially if the weather is hot. It can also be a tough job interviewing someone on the phone.

I find it rather difficult to ask questions to someone I can’t talk with face to face. Speaking of which, though, some police desk officers are accommodating with during phone interviews.

An intern’s life like mine can be pretty tough as there are days when I don’t have anything to write about and there are also days when I would do some cramming because there’s not enough time for all the stories I need to write. But even though it can be hard and challenging, seeing my article in the news paper is an enough reward for all my hard work.