The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines notes with concern a press statement by the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army essentially calling out Philstar.com journalist Cristina Chi for “the repetition of demonstrably false or misleading assertions” that it said “mirror disinformation lines propagated by extremist and front organizations.”

We have confirmed that 2ID did not communicate with Chi or her newsroom on its issues with the story, an avenue available to anyone and one that would have been more productive.

The division instead chose to single her out in a press statement that exposes her to potential harassment.

This tactic, elevated to policy in practice by Malacañang in the Duterte administration and continued even by agencies like the Department of Health during the present one, is not meant to correct issues in reports but to intimidate reporters and the media community into sticking to official narratives.

Reporting on Anicoche’s being taken into custody and her eventual departure has relied heavily on information from the military, but that does not mean the circumstances have been “openly documented, verified by multiple independent institutions, and consistently communicated” as 2ID says in its statement.

We commend Chi for giving space to dissenting voices and reject the implication by the 2ID for the media to only report what it says or to ignore certain sectors just because the military calls them “front” groups.

The military should understand that it will never be the only arbiter of truth and is but one of the many sources of stories that journalists can use to verify their stories.

History teaches us that media should be wary whenever men with guns deign to dictate what we should report and how.

Reference:
National Directorate
secretariat@nujp.org

(Screenshots from Philstar.com, 2nd Infantry “Jungle Fighter” Division, Philippine Army)