PRO-6 heeds call to protect mediamen
ROXAS CITY – The Police Regional Office 6 has lined up various activities in its commitment to protect mediamen against occupational hazards that usually transform into harassment, threats, and other grave measures to silence them.
These activities include a series of dialogues with local media and a police-media relations seminar to improve the practicing journalists’ personal safety.
The dialogue will seek the opinion and suggestions of the local press in adopting best practices to protect them without having to go beyond the boundaries of the law and without necessarily curtailing their freedom of movement and sacrificing objectivity and transparency in gathering news while the seminar will establish a harmonious working relationship between the Philippine National Police and the local media.
“Another proposal is to open a line of communication that will allow threatened journalists to report immediate risks and immediately call for police assistance,” said a PRO 6 portal news.
PRO 6 director Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao Jr. said that the PNP is committed to the order of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to stop the killings of journalists in the country.
Recently, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that an executive order was being drafted to create a “super body’ to handle media killings.
“It will be something stronger than the current task force that handles extrajudicial killings to give journalists more protection,” De Lima said.
