MANILA, Philippines—The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) decried Wednesday the alleged harassment of Quezon City policemen during a film showing event at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City over the weekend.
On February 28, filmmakers held “Sine Henerasyon,” a film showing event, which featured documentaries like JL Burgos’ “Portraits of Mosquito Press,” Ilang-Ilang Quijano’s “Daughters of Cordillera,” and EJ Mijares’ “Shapes of Crimsom.”
Portraits of a Mosquito is a documentary about “We Forum and Malaya’s” struggles to assert press freedom during the Marcos dictatorship.
Quijano’s documentary, meanwhile, is about three generations of indigenous Igorot activists while Mijares’ Shapes of Crimson is about a veteran theater artist and cultural activist.
Rowena Paraan, chair of the NUJP quoted JL Burgos, one of the filmmakers in the event, saying that a patrol car and bomb squad vehicle from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 10 arrived at the venue around 10 a.m.
The policemen allegedly told the organizers that they needed to “sweep” the place since a VIP was set to arrive later in the day.
After the policemen departed, two of their members, both armed with assault rifles, remained near the venue.
However, No VIP showed up.
At around 4:30 p.m., Burgos said another group of policemen arrived.
After looking at the posters in the venue, they began asking the organizers if the films they were showing were about the New People’s Army (NPA).
Again, two of their members remained after the policemen had left the venue.
But according to Burgos, it wasn’t over.
He said another patrol car arrived at around 8 p.m. but immediately left when asked to explain why they were there.
“By lying about the reason for their presence in the first instance and the questions they asked when they returned that afternoon, it was clear that the QCPD personnel were out to intimidate the organizers of what, to them, probably constituted a “subversive” activity that shouldn’t have been allowed at all,” the NUJP said in statement.
The NUJP urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) to probe the alleged harassment of organizers.
“To ensure that such a display of official arrogance is never repeated, we call on the leadership of the Philippine National Police to live up to their oaths and investigate posthaste the actions of the QCPD personnel and impose the appropriate sanctions on those responsible for this ill-conceived attempt to stifle free expression,” it said.
The group demanded that the QCPD apologize to the Sine Henerasyon organizers.
“So what, if, as the QCPD clearly believed, the films were about the NPA and other “subversive” subjects? While it is true that the NPA is still outlawed, last we looked, discussing them and what they stand for, or even sympathizing with them, are not a crime,” it said.
It added that the QCPD “is in dire need of a refresher course” on their motto, “To Serve and Protect.”