From the Journal Online (Aug 8): Media tagged as 'Enemy of state'
SENATOR Grace Poe expressed concern over the military tagging media as the “enemy of the state” during the hearing of her Committee on Public Information and Mass Media regarding media protection.
Poe reacted after the National Union of Journalist in the Philippines (NUJP) told the hearing that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) particularly the 101st Technical Support Group Battalion Reserved Command named them as enemy of the state. The NUJP also complained that in 2006, the AFP called the media the “enemy of the state” at the height of criticisms of the Arroyo administration.
The NUJP even accused the AFP of using a powerpoint presentation against them and some media organizations such as the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), Arao Presentation and Bulatlat and going around schools using the said presentation.
The senator said that instead of vilifying the media, the military must protect the media which is one symbol of democracy in the country.
Presidential Task Force on Media Security head, Undersecretary Joel Egco, meanwhile said that they have “red flagged” already the 101st TSG Battalion and explained to their command officers the content of Administrative Order 1 that specifies the protection of media.
“If they have it that way, kapag sinasabi na ire-red flag dahil media is the enemy of the state, nakakabahala yun. Di na nila naisip ang repercussion nung ganung klaseng branding,” Poe said.
To give more protection to the media, Poe proposed the creation of an independent commission that will create and push for policies to preserve the sanctity and welfare of the media and its personnel.
She suggested that the Task Force should have its own budget but must have an active mediaman as a member of the board. Poe is also pushing for giving hazard pay to the members of the media assigned to cover dangerous assignments.
“Dapat merong hazard insurance ang mga miyembro ng media dahil delikado ang trabaho at tanggalin sa enemy of the state ang branding ng media orgs. Dahil di talaga dapat yan, it goes against the principle of democracy if you target media practitioners and label them as enemy of the state,” Poe explained.
The senator said that the media should be well protected after the Philippines placed second as the most dangerous country for media next to Iraq.
http://www.journal.com.ph/news/nation/media-tagged-as-enemy-of-state
The National Union of journalist (NUJP) is an organization many of whose members hold views that are sympathetic to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The Bulatlat online website can best be described as routinely engaging in pro-CPP/National Democratic Front (NDF) propaganda activities. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and Arao Presentation are left-leaning organizations that appear to hold views sympathetic to the CPP/NDF.
ReplyDeleteThe Philippine military is stuck between a rock and a hard place in dealing with legal above ground media organizations that are either sympathetic to the terrorist CPP or are outright CPP fronts.
These media outlets, taking advantage of freedom of the press that is inherent in a free, open, and democratic society, routinely engage in anti-Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disinformation/ propaganda activities that often falsely accuses the military of egregious human rights abuses with little or no evidence.
If the AFP attempts to counter the propaganda activities of these groups by pointing out their true political affiliation with or affinity for the CPP/NDF then the military is accused of "red baiting" or of engaging in attacks against the media.