The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) on Thursday denounced an aide of Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. for berating an Inquirer correspondent whom he accused of false reporting, especially on issues involving the provincial executive and mining in the province.
In a complaint filed with the NUJP, Robert Gonzaga, Inquirer correspondent in Olongapo City and Zambales, said he approached Chief Insp. Rogelio Penones during the governor’s launch of a political party in Iba town on Wednesday but the official started confronting him.
Gonzaga is president of the NUJP chapter in Olongapo City and Subic.
“Upon recognizing who I was, Penones immediately launched into his tirade about [my] bad reports about Ebdane. He [said] he had misgivings about me being [in the event] and said, ‘Baka iba na naman isulat mo (You might be writing something else).’ He said this a few times, not just to me, but aloud to his companions, who were all gathered around me and [Pilipino Star Ngayon correspondent Randy] Datu,” Gonzaga said.
Based on Penones’ statements, Gonzaga said he learned that Ebdane and his men got angry with him because of his reports on the theft of mineral ore in Coto Mines and the illegal mining taking place in the province.
Gonzaga said he told Penones that he was merely doing his job as a reporter and had tried his best getting the side of Ebdane or his men, “but no one, including Ebdane, has responded.”
“I saw that he was already clearly agitated so, to avoid provoking him any further, I just slowly turned, and then walked away. I was already feeling unsafe at that point, being surrounded by Ebdane’s men, and Penones was pointing me out to his companions,” he said.
NUJP said Penones’ display of anger was an “expression of Ebdane’s displeasure at Gonzaga’s reporting and those of other reporters regarding the illegal mining in Zambales.”
“Penones’ assertions of being victimized by false reporting, which is shared by many who are the subjects of negative reports, is a demonstrably massive lie—as every government agency, including the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), BOC (Bureau of Customs), and even the private firm from which mineral ore is being illegally stolen had spoken otherwise.”
“Gonzaga’s reporting only reflected the findings of these agencies, nothing more,” it said.
NUJP said Gonzaga has repeatedly tried to obtain Ebdane’s response to the issue “but has been met by stonewalling and a collective silence on the topic by himself and his people.”
“This assault on press freedom—however small—cannot be allowed to go unchallenged because it suggests a monumental disdain for our profession by people in the government,” NUJP said. Inquirer Central Luzon