Tagum reporters ask for police blotters, get ‘interrogation’ instead – NUJP

Two radio reporters in Tagum City, Davao del Norte were allegedly denied access to blotter reports from various police field offices in the province and ended up being interrogated by police.

In a statement on Monday, media organization National Union of Jounalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said Erwin Batucan and Jojo Gales, reporters of local station Radyo ni Juan 100.7 FM visited the PNP provincial office in Davao del Norte on April 8 to check the police blotters for story leads.

The radio reporters were instead directed to the office of the Intelligence Division where two officers had them write down their personal information on forms provided by the police, the group said.

“Batucan said the policemen refused to let them see the police blotters nor answer any questions regarding newsworthy incidents that may have happened in the province,” the NUJP stament said.

“Batucan also said they were not given any reason why they needed to write down their personal information...Both policemen also refrained from identifying themselves other than to say that both were intelligence officers.”

After 40 minutes of undergoing questioning and filling up the forms, the journalists were told they were free to go. They were not given a chance to look through the police blotter reports, however.

Batucan said he and his colleagues at the radio station have also seen unidentified men on motorcycles observing the goings-on at the radio station at different times.

The NUJP said an Army spokesman had previously tagged the radio station as biased towards the New People's Army.

“We demand an immediate investigation and sanctions against military and police personnel who, in violation of their sworn duties, have engaged in this brazen attempt to stifle freedom of the press and of expression,” the NUJP said.

The NUJP also demanded the following from the Davao del Norte Provincial Police Office:
 

• The immediate identification of the Intelligence Division personnel who subjected Batucan and Gales “to what can only be described as illegal interrogation and detention”
• The immediate investigation and discipline of these two officers
• To publicly hand over to Radyo ni Juan the information illegally extracted from Batucan and Gales
• A notarized promise to end any and all surveillance of the radio station and its personnel
• An immediate public apology and a written explanation from the provincial police director to the two reporters and to other personnel of the station, and to the media community in Davao del Norte, with the assurance that no such incident will ever occur again

GMA News Online sought PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac for comment, but he is yet to respond as of this post.
 
In 2008, the Philippine National Police came under fire for a new policy that barred media and the public from accessing police blotter reports without either a court order or permission from the station commander. 

"The right to information is very basic and blotters are public records, and therefore should be available?," the Palace said then. — Elizabeth Marcelo/JDS, GMA News