Spinning a story

THE demolition that took place at Salmonan along Quezon Boulevard last Monday took on a surreal turn when a person associated with the left ranted against Martial Law in Mindanao because a group of photojournalists found themselves locked in at the still unfinished barangay hall.

While the social media post was taken down, the one who posted deactivating, and allied media group clarifying that there was no such “detention” that happened, we are stepping in because yet another group is trying to spin it that the photojournalists were locked in so that they cannot take photos of abuses during the demolition.

Sun. Star Davao had two photographers inside that locked building, and they were not detained. In fact, what happened was a comedy of errors that the “detained” photojournalists were all laughing about.

It was a Sun. Star Davao photojournalist who was in the area as early as 5: 30 a. m. who asked permission to be allowed to go up the unfinished building, seeing that it gave them a vantage point on the second floor. Being unfinished, the second floor still did not have a wall, just a flooring, and no safety barriers to keep people from falling.

As they entered, several others saw their intention and a group followed them. The person in charge of keeping watch over the building decided to lock the door to prevent more kibitzers from entering as it was a building under construction, and therefore a danger zone. As tension arose, however, the police cleared the area of kibitzers, the person in charge included. The area, after all, was just within a literal stone’s throw distance from the scene of confrontation. In a mob of kibitzers, one person holding a key can easily get lost.

Seeing that there were cameramen and photographers on the unfinished building, the police also called to them to come down and cover the confrontation from an area designated for the media. That was when those inside realized that the man who let them in and locked the door was no longer around, the area cleared of all kibitzers. Amid the mob of people, nobody knew where that person went. The photojournalists and cameramen had to pass through an open window instead.

There was no detention that happened, there was even no order to stop taking photos. But an unfinished building is not among the safest places to be in, these are even off limits everywhere, thus, an order to vacate is understandable. Not that the cameramen and journalists wanted to vacate since they had a bird’s eye view of the goings- on below, but in any situation where tension is imminent, rules have to be set and obeyed.

Bottomline: It is all about not adding tension to an already tense situation and taking unnecessary risks. It’s all about being journalists who respect the work of law enforcers. It’s all about finding ways to best cover an event. It was never about suppression of rights and detention.

After the raised voices and threats and standoff, we can say it was among the most peaceful demolition we have witnessed.