Malaybalay police call defense of ABS-CBN ‘terrorism’

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, Philippines — The police are at it again.

In Bukidnon province, Malaybalay City’s police station has put out an infographic on social media on Thursday that depicted people campaigning for press freedom and the continued operation of media giant ABS-CBN were engaged in rebellion and terrorism.

It posted the material on Facebook and circulated it in the Viber group of reporters covering the Region 10 police command at Camp Alagar here.

By Friday morning, the infographic drew flak from journalists, especially among those in the police beat.

The post was taken down from Facebook and Viber around 11 a.m. on Friday. But Bukidnon’s police chief directed city police officials to explain their action, said Police Lt. Col. Silvestre Asiong Jr., provincial police spokesperson.

Last month, one police station in Butuan City, Misamis Occidental province, came out with an infographic depicting activists as terrorists. The post was also taken down.

The latest infographic shows photos of eight people carrying placards during rallies, lifted from various news sites. Three placards bear the message “Defend Press Freedom,” each by alternative media group Altermidya, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, and Kabataan party list.

Three other photos were related to the call against the shutdown of ABS-CBN, with two mentioning about the quo warranto case filed by party list groups Gabriela and Bayan Muna.

A Kilusang Mayo Uno placard was also shown with the message, “Save ABS-CBN workers!” Still another placard by the League of Filipino Students appeared with the partly readable message calling for the overthrow of the “fascist Du30 (Duterte) regime.”

The collection of images were wrapped with the message “Malalaman mong sila ay para sa terorismo; Papatulan lahat ng isyu; Basta laban sa gobyerno. No to rebellion. No to terrorism.” (You will know they are for terrorism; they will ride on all issues; especially if it is against the government.)

A mistake

Police Lt. Col. Jerry Tambis, Malaybalay police chief, said in an interview that “one of my personnel did it, and has already apologized for what happened.”

“We made a mistake and we are sorry for it,” Tambis said.

Tambis said there was no intent to malign ABS-CBN, as the infographic was intended to show the workings of “left-leaning groups who use a variety of issues to criticize the government.”

Tambis added that the infographic was not an original but was shared from another social media account and edited by his personnel.

He said the police regional office at Camp Alagar called him up and ordered him to remove the post shortly before noon on Friday. INQ