Authorities will take over newspaper offices and broadcast networks that will not follow “standards" and “guidelines" that will be set by the government under General Order No. 5. General Order No. 5 gives the military and the police the authority to implement President Arroyo’s proclamation that put the whole country under a “state of national emergency." Director General Arturo Lomibao, Philippine National Police (PNP), said the raid and take over of The Daily Tribune on Friday was just a start. “The takeover will be applied to other newspapers and media entities if they will not follow the standards, especially if [the content of news reports] contribute to the destabilization of the government," Lomibao said. Lomibao told reporters in Camp Crame that the media are not exempted from General Order No. 5. He said the order allows the sequestration of media materials if these are proven to be part of destabilization plots. General Order No. 5 mandates the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PNP to prevent and suppress acts of terrorism and lawlessness. CONDEMNATION The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) immediately issued a statement condemning the government’s move. “We condemn in strongest words possible the Friday night raid by government troops of the office of the Daily Tribune newspaper, and the sending of troops to "watch" over broadcast stations, ABS-CBN and GMA7," the NUJP said in a statement. The group said the government’s action is an attempt “to assign blame on media" for the Arroyo administration’s “current crisis." The NUJP called on all media practitioners “not to be cowed by threats, open or veiled, seeking to scare us from boldly performing our jobs as we must." The NUJP statement said: “We demand that the Arroyo government allow journalists and media organizations the fullest freedom to air and print news and information about the current political crisis, and that it desist from undertaking repressive action against journalists and media organizations covering the crisis." Lomibao, however, said authorities will not confiscate anything from media offices until an investigation is done. He said despite the temporary takeover by the PNP of The Daily Tribune the operations of the newspaper will continue. “As of now, we are still reviewing all the contents and substances of the publication," Lomibao said. Niñez Cacho-Olivarez, Tribune publisher said: “Ano’ng sabi nila? Gusto nilang i-take over ang office namin? Hindi puwede," Niñez said. Lomibao said the PNP is just doing its job. WARNING TO MEDIA The “strong presence" of the police in the editorial offices of the Daily Tribune will remain while “extraordinary conditions" in the country exist, as a reminder to other media organizations not to aid those who want to overthrow the government. The warning came from Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor who said that in the coming days, the publication would operate under the watch of the uniformed men. “Hindi namin pinapakialaman ang publication, pero gusto naming ipakita iyong strong presence namin na huwag kayong gagawa ng kahit anuman na makakatulong sa rebelde (We are not meddling with the publication but we just want to show our strong presence to tell them not to do anything that will help the rebels)," Defensor said. Defensor said the government has not taken over Daily Tribune. However, he said it was a possibility under a state of emergency. In case of a takeover, he added, the government could even have a say on the paper’s editorial content. In meetings with police officials, he said it was agreed that the government would not interfere with the stories that the paper would put out. After a raid in the wee hours Saturday, policemen from Camp Crame were stationed inside the editorial and business offices of the Daily Tribune in Manila. Defensor said the government is currently talking to owners and editors of other media organizations to clarify issues. He said police presence in media organizations is not a regular state policy. Proclamation 1017, which put the country under a state of emergency, said that some elements of the media are “recklessly" promoting the cause of those who want to overthrow the administration. Asked why the Daily Tribune was singled out, Defensor said, “Pinapabayaan na ang Tribune, pero kailangan bantayan because we are in an abnormal situation (Tribune is being allowed to print, but there’s a need to guard it because we are in an abnormal situation)." -GMANews.TV, with a report from INQ7.net
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