LAMENTATION A weeping Jennelyn Olaires hugs partner Michael Siaron, 30, a pedicab driver and alleged drug pusher, who was shot and killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen near Pasay Rotonda on Edsa. He was one of six killed in drug-related incidents in Pasay and Manila yesterday. RAFFY LERMA/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
A group of photographers on Monday expressed support for colleagues who have come under fire for covering extrajudicial killings linked to the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
The Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines, whose members include some of the most prominent and influential practitioners in the country, said it was “compelled” to issue a statement after individuals, “mostly in anonymous social media posts … put doubt on the integrity of news photos of victims of summary executions that appeared in newspapers and news sites in recent days.”
“After looking into the photographs in question and after holding conversations with some of the journalists who have been covering the night shift, we assure the public that there is no reason to doubt the truthfulness and the integrity of the photographs,” PCP said in a statement signed by its chairman Joe Torres.
Torres said the group stands behind its member photojournalists Vincent Go, Raffy Lerma, Mark Saludes and Basilio Sepe.
Lerma, a Philippine Daily Inquirer photographer, made headlines recently for his photograph which appeared on the front page of the broadsheet.
President Rodrigo Duterte said the viral photo, which showed a woman clutching the body of her partner who was accused of peddling drugs, was unnecessarily “dramatic.”
READ: Duterte hits ‘melodramatic’ Inquirer front page photo
The photo has been dubbed “La Pieta” as Jennilyn Olayres is seen cradling the body of Michael Siaron like the Virgin Mary mourning over a dead Jesus Christ in Michelangelo’s world-famous sculpture.
READ: The story behind the viral photo
Some netizens claimed that the photo was staged but other photographers present at the crime scene posted their own account of the incident to prove that Lerma’s photos were genuine.
“We are convinced that the photojournalists, especially those covering the police beat in Metro Manila, have been relentless in doing their job to bring out the right information that will benefit the public,” Torres said.
He said it is not true that the photos of Lerma and his fellow photojournalists were manipulated or staged.
“Those who think they know better than those who are on the scene—including the police, the first responders, and the bystanders—are only deceiving themselves,” Torres said.
Since Duterte took his oath of office, more than 400 people accused of taking or peddling drugs have died. Majority were killed during police operations while others were reportedly assassinated by vigilante groups. RAM/rga