NOEL ALAMAR, dzMM radio reporter, shows in protest the plastic handcuffs used by police during the Manila Peninsula siege in this file photo taken on Nov. 30, 2007.
MANILA PENINSULA SIEGE CHR: Arrest of newsmen illegal By Jocelyn Uy Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 03:30:00 09/02/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Warning against media repression, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Monday denounced the abuse by the police of the rights of journalists by arbitrarily arresting and handcuffing them during their coverage of the military rebels’ takeover of the Peninsula Manila hotel last year.
The CHR recommended the formal investigation of the police officials involved prior to the possible filing of criminal and administrative charges against them.
In a 20-page resolution, the CHR ruled that the police had violated the journalists’ rights to liberty, security of persons and freedom from arbitrary arrest when they were arrested and herded to Camp Bagong Diwa following the Nov. 29 siege.
“The facts do not support a clear finding of repression or denial of freedom of the press. However, the Commission warns that acts to detain members of the media without clear legal basis dangerously stand astride the borderline between valid police power and media repression in violation of fundamental freedoms,” according to the CHR resolution released to the media.
“We maintain that the acts of the police and military to physically limit the freedom of movement and right … against arbitrary detention of some members of the media constitute acts that only just fall short of actual infringement on press freedom,” the CHR said.
“They have the effect of implicit threats to members of media of possible subsequent punishment if their reports displease the authorities.”
The CHR said that the conflicting statements by the police to explain the arrests “show uncertainty in their actions as to the legal basis for such acts and offer nothing but arbitrariness, whim and doubt on the part of the arresting officers.”
Arrests without basis
In its formal complaint to the CHR, the National Press Club (NPC) accused the police of handcuffing about 30 media people with plastic cables before detaining them at the police camp in Bicutan, Taguig City.
Two Philippine Daily Inquirer journalists covering the crisis were among those brought to the camp.
The incident came after a six-hour standoff at the Peninsula Manila hotel that ended with the arrest of Magdalo leader Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and his dissident group.
It was believed to be the biggest mass crackdown on media members since the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos.
CHR Chair Leila de Lima said at a press conference that “there had been no basis to justify detaining and the processing of members of the media.”
With De Lima were newly appointed Commissioners Cecilia Rachel Quisumbing, Ma. Victoria Cardona and Norberto dela Cruz.
Reminder to media
But the CHR also had a word of reminder for media members, saying they were not “completely free of their own responsibilities” and that “for every freedom, there is a corresponding responsibility.”
The CHR said the media should also observe proper conduct and public safety rules on the job.
“The fact that there were already police lineups and barricades set around the perimeter of the … hotel should have cautioned the media of the seriousness of the situation and made them leave and do their coverage at a safer place,” the CHR said.
The NPC filed formal complaints against Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon Jr. and Metro Manila Police Director Geary Barias for allegedly compromising press freedom and committing human rights violations against the journalists as individuals.
The journalists were released immediately after being subjected to questioning and proper identification at Camp Bagong Diwa.
Police officials had argued that the arrests were a standard operating procedure to make sure that those detained were not rebels disguising as reporters.
Conflicting accounts
The CHR cited “conflicting” police accounts of why the media people were detained.
“If the police officers were not sure as to why they were conducting the arrests, they should have not done so,” the CHR said.
It added: “The media, and the public in general, must be spared from such unlawful and capricious interference upon their right to liberty and security of person.”
The CHR refrained from making any pronouncement on the alleged resistance and disobedience to a person of authority on the part of the journalists.
But it pointed out that if the mass crackdown were a valid instance of a warrantless arrest, the authorities still failed to inform the media of the nature and cause for their arrest.
“The members of the media were kept in ignorance as to whether they were brought there as witnesses or as suspects. They were not accompanied by any lawyer of their own choice nor supplied with one,” it stated.
Respect for human rights
There was also no proof that the media showed violence or attempted to escape the police, which could have justified their arrest, according to the CHR.
It also pointed out that the journalists were professionals merely doing their jobs.
“They were without weapons and the restraint applied to them does not pass the tests of reasonableness, necessity and proportionality,” it added.
“While we believe that the media men and women had their own faults in the conduct of their coverage at the … siege, this is not an excuse for the respondents to take for granted the calls of human rights, which must be observed at all times and in all places,” the CHR said.
But it also pointed out that while “the role of the media in a free society cannot be overemphasized,” respect for the police and the military and of their roles to protect civilians and the state was essential.
“The Commission firmly believes that law enforcement officers and the media can peacefully co-exist in our society. There need not be a battle of ire nor a challenge for supremacy.”
The CHR asked the Department of Interior and Local Government and the PNP conduct an internal inquiry and file possible administrative cases against those liable.
It asked the justice department to further investigate the incident and file proper cases on violations of the Revised Penal Code against police officials.
Gray areas unresolved
The NPC, represented by its newly elected president, Benny Antiporda, found the ruling wanting and “half-baked.”
“The CHR left gray areas in the resolution. It should have come up with a stronger, concrete recommendation, like prescribing that criminal cases be filed before the Ombudsman or the DOJ,” Antiporda told reporters.
But he added that the CHR findings would strengthen the case which the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) had filed in the Court of Appeals.
NUJP president Joe Torres said the CHR findings would support the journalists’ case against the police officials.
“We will also appeal the decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court that found no basis to our complaint of illegal arrest,” Torres said.
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