When Jonas Burgos, son of the late press freedom icon Jose Burgos, was reported abducted, I did not care much. I was then too consumed with other breaking news stories that I was compelled to write about him only until one of the editors bugged me to.
However, after my first story about Burgos, came another and another. At one point I got too tired of writing a 'Burgos story' because of different reasons--one, the desk is no longer paying too much attention; the reader might soon lose interest; and finally, there was simply no update, nothing new I can really write about. What kept me going was my wanting to help the Burgos family, a clan I have never met, or simply just to find out the truth for myself. And I found out that Burgos was abducted by the military themselves. Is it the truth? My sources say it is. But I'm giving the AFP the benefit of the doubt.
It must be true that if a story is meant to be yours, yours it would be. A friend suddenly asked me one day if I'd be willing to interview a military intelligence agent and I said yes, without any hesitation. On second thought, I had some hesitation--only for my security. Luckily, 'teamwork' has it that my colleague Alcuin Papa was also present during the interview. An INQUIRER.net and a Philippine Daily Inquirer exclusive, indeed :)
When I met the agent, I was certain of the possibility that there were more than two pairs of prying eyes, that in the coming days my phone could be wire-tapped. Maybe this is just an illusion, maybe paranoia. But who really knows? I am maybe already included in the dossier of the security forces.
The desk editors had second thoughts, and as always, played devil's advocates first. They asked for every detail of the story, watching out for loopholes. This time, fortunately, they unanimously agreed it could make a banner story. And I am really really happy my efforts paid off. :)
Oh well, this is what I like about this job. I get to find out the truth. And on my way to finding the truth, skepticism is my keyword.
Read the story here: ‘Military behind Burgos abduction’ -- intelligence agent
it takes more than a wire-tapped phone to scare someone like you. :)
ReplyDeletecool thea! :)
ReplyDeletewow thea. such a great accomplishment!
ReplyDeletehehe thanks! :) just now i came from a press con sa Armed Forces--and as expected, they denied my story. Well I'm standing by what I wrote. :)
ReplyDeleteand yes, chico, my phone has long been bugged..so nothing to be scared about. :) hehehe. kix! :) momy jana! :)
ReplyDeletewow. galeng ah! it takes a lot more than guts to do what you did. =)
ReplyDeleteit's good the media closely watch jonas' case. some relatives of human rights victims usually say, jonas is lucky because his father is jose burgos so there is hope for him and his family. yung daang nawawala, nawala na rin yung kaso nila. sad. :-(
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