Bayan apologizes for harassment

We apologize to the three photojournalists who felt harassed when confronted by our marshals during our rally on Monday protesting US President Trump’s visit.

The incident involved Photojournalists Arjoy Ceniza of Mindanao Daily Mirror, Lean Daval of Edge Davao and Macky Lim of Sunstar Davao. Marshals accosted them as Ceniza and Daval were photographing the rally. But when they presented their IDs, the marshals apologized.

We regret this incident has caused inconvenienced and disappointed members of the press. However, the zeal exercised by our marshals should not be interpreted as paranoia. In fact, our marshals accosted two military personnel from our rally on that day. In the context of continuing political killings and consistent insertions of intelligence agents in political rallies have made such security measures a necessity.

We hope we all learn from this incident so such situation could be handled better. Our activities are always welcome to the press, and we hope members of the media can also properly identify themselves with IDs to avoid inconvenience.

We hope we continue to find ways of cooperation for the advancement of people’s issues and struggles. Kerlan Fanagel ( 09303183434 ) Chairperson, PASAKA Lumad Confederation

Member Organization- Bagong Alyansang Makabayan- Southern Mindanao