Crisis protocol for media urged

August 24, 2010, 5:03pm
President Noynoy Aquino inspects the crime scene after midnight Tuesday where a former policeman held hostage 22 passengers, mostly Hong Kong nationals inside a tourist bus in front of the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. (Photo by POL BRIANA, JR.)
President Noynoy Aquino inspects the crime scene after midnight Tuesday where a former policeman held hostage 22 passengers, mostly Hong Kong nationals inside a tourist bus in front of the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. (Photo by POL BRIANA, JR.)

A media blackout on all delicate police and military movements in times of crisis or emergency has been proposed in the House of Representatives a day after 10 people were killed in a hostage-taking crisis that ended bloody in Manila Monday night.

Cebu Rep. Luis Quisumbing filed House Bill No. 2737 which seeks the media from reporting police and military positions, movements, and actions during crisis situations.

“This is not intended to curtail press freedom. The primary intention is to protect the lives of men and women in uniform and civilians. Care should be taken to avoid disclosure of vital information to the perpetrators until the crisis situation is resolved,” Quisumbing explained.

Quisumbing explained that the measure should not be interpreted as an attempt to curtail press freedom but to ensure the safety of the victims and the apprehension of the offenders.

“In any case, our bill guarantees that once the crisis is settled, media will have full access to information about the police or military operations and coverage shall not be restricted,” he added.

The legislator explained that media coverage should not further endanger lives in crisis situations and instead, be restrained or even prohibited to avoid obstruction of operations of the authorities to take control of the situation.

He proposed that mediamen who will commit the unlawful act of violating it be imprisoned from six months to one day to six years with or fine of P20,000.

Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar filed House Resolution No. 279 directing the appropriate committees to hold an investigation on the hostage-taking incident, which will review the standard operating procedures taken by the police.

“Without necessarily putting blame on anyone, as it is still premature to do so, there is certainly a need to review the procedure in handling hostage-taking incidents and reassess the implementation of such measures to prevent similar incidents.

For his part, Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles called on the House of Representatives to conduct a study on the procedures by which police and Special Weapons and Tactics units handle hostage situations.

“There were lapses on judgment made during the hostage crisis that led to the death of several hostages. The fact that these hostages were Chinese nationals doesn't help," the vice chair of the House Committee on Human Rights said.

“Now, it will be known in the international community how we bungled the situation. An apology must be issued immediately to the Chinese government and assistance given to the victims and their families,” he added.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Rodolfo Biazon blamed the bloody ending to the arrest of SPO4 Gregorio Mendoza, brother of hostage-taker dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, on suspicion that he was helping the latter.

A former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief, Biazon said the lapse in judgment of the police action agitated the hostage-taker, prompting Mendoza to kill his hostages using his M16 rifle.

But Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, a retired general in the Philippine National Police (PNP), defended police authorities, saying it is always hard to determine when to enforce the assault as final option during hostage crisis.

Don’t blame media
The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters ng Pilipinas (KBP) or Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines on Tuesday said the media should not be placed in a bad light with how Monday's hostage-taking incident ended. KBP president Herman Basbaño said the media should not be blamed for airing blow-by-blow coverage of the hostage-taking incident since it is merely performing its duty to keep the public informed.

He maintained that the media cannot be prevented from covering newsworthy events like the hostage-taking the other day since media blackout will be a violation of the public's right to know.

“The media was just doing its job in line with the public's right to information. No body from the media can just put to halt their coverage especially if the incident is transpiring right before them, or even if it is something that will be damaging to the image of the country," he said.

Basbaño, who is concurrently the vice president of Bombo Radyo Philippines, said the police should have properly coordinated with the media and defined protocols and guidelines about the live coverage of the crisis.

No injustice
The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) said on Tuesday that there was no injustice when it dismissed from the service Senior Inspector Mendoza and four of his men in connection with extortion and robbery charges filed by a young hotel cook.

Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus Jr. told a news conference that Mendoza and the other respondents filed their joint motion for reconsideration (MR) out of time or beyond the 10-day prescriptive period to answer the OMB verdict.

Nevertheless, he said Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Law Enforcement Offices (MOLEO) Emilio Gonzales III accepted the MR and assigned the case to a new investigator to have a fresh look on the case.

The MOLEO resolved the motion and submitted it to Ombudsman Merceditas N. Gutierrez.

De Jesus revealed that while the hostage incident was ongoing, Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno met Gutierrez to relay Mendoza's demand, the dismissal of the case and his reinstatement.

Moreno then called Mendoza over the cellphone for him to talk to the OMB chief who assured him that she will personally look into the case and resolved the case within 10 days. (With reports from Kris Bayos and Jun Ramirez)
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President Noynoy Aquino inspects the crime scene after midnight Tuesday where a former policeman held hostage 22 passengers, mostly Hong Kong nationals inside a tourist bus in front of the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. (Photo by POL BRIANA, JR.) 48.46 KB