I still have not decided yet, although I think my not going to the meeting the other day somehow said it all.
Oh, my non-attendance at the meeting in UP Masscom wasn't really intentional. I was out for a coverage and it would be too impractical for me to go to Diliman after covering for two major beats (Crame and AFP).
The meeting of the journalists, most of them my friends, who were arrested during the Manila Peninsula siege reportedly (since I wasn't there) tackled the filing of a class suit against the Philippine National Police for the 'warrantless arrests and the maltreatment' against us/them.
The question is: Were the arrests really warrantless?
Yes it is, if we pertain to the absence of proper documents. BUT if we think of it this way: media stayed in a crime scene (which is prohibited, we know) despite an order from police and while police operations were ongoing, then I guess the arrests could be justified.
I know I could draw flak for this kind of thinking. After all, just like them, I'm a member of the media, I was inside the Manila Pen, I was also maltreated although I fortunately evaded arrest. Still, the fact remains: there were laws and there were law enforcers and we had to follow orders.
When police Director Geary Barias, NCRPO chief ordered the media to vacate the area, my first instinct was to hide. haha :)) I was afraid they would shove me out of the hotel and I would lose what turned out to be the biggest story of the day and of the year. Of course my first instinct was to stay. Why would I let go of such a big story?
But after all the hullaballoo, I realized the media was 'somehow' wrong in staying inside the Pen. If everyone left, things could have turned out differently. I can't believe I allowed myself be used as human shield by those rebellious soldiers.
I think the media had been repressed if the government ordered a news black-out, but it didn't. They still allowed us to cover the event at our own risks and eventually they had to carry out arrests because the situation called for it.
The handcuffing, however, was unnecessary. So if that's the only basis for the class suit, I would have signed myself in.
Hay, it seems like I'm torn between advocacy and law. Where should I go?
You should go where your heart leads you. LOLZ Just think about it, Thea. What happened to the media was indeed overkill. You guys were just doing your job. But so were the cops. In my mind, it's an endless debate. But of course, I'm a spectator. You're a player. So, you know. Diskarte mo na yan. Bottom line is, umeepal lang ako. LULZ
ReplyDeleteHehe. My impression, watching on that day, was that it's a lot like a fight between spouses - a lot of how you see it depends on which perspective you choose. So I appreciate your dilemma. I also appreciate the fact that you're having a dilemma rather than just going with the flow.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, I tend to believe that struggle is a good thing - it tells you that your heart is beating, and that your soul is alive. Sometimes flak, like all pain, is a good thing. :-D
Whether you eventually choose a side or remain frustratedly ambivalent, I hope you find comfort in your own self-honesty. After all, isn't honesty the great foundation of journalism?
Hehe. I'll stop before this gets any more saccharine. :-D
"Whatever it was they were being protected from, it turned out, as they were tortured and even murdered, that they needed more protection from their self-anointed protectors. Although the journalists arrested were not tortured or killed last November 29, what they needed protection from was not Trillanes and company, but the police. After all, it was these gentlemen who not only handcuffed some reporters and technicians, but also cursed, manhandled and poked them with nightsticks in between pocketing Peninsula ashtrays and carting off hotel front desk laptops." -Prof. Luis Teodoro
ReplyDeletelulz hahahaha :)) natawa ako :) pero mahirap talaga magdecide. :p
ReplyDeletetrue. :) It's like I'm torn between two lovers nga eh hahahha :))
ReplyDeleteI highly respect Prof Teodoro but I think these accusations (robbery) are too much. Nobody ever proved these things took place. He wasn't even inside the Manila Pen.
ReplyDeleteYes, we were also maltreated but we were also at fault because we did not obey rules. Masyado na kasing spoiled iban media outfits. Press freedom isnt always absolute.