Philippines - Media Safety
Philippines: ABS-CBN reporters get death threat
Source : INSI 13.03.2007
ABS-CBN reporters get death threat
Two reporters of the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation received death threats in connection with their exclusive stories on the special elections in Lanao del Sur, a province in Mindanao over the weekend.
Cable news channel ANC anchorman Ricky Carandang and DZMM Radyo Patrol reporter Noel Alamar received threats after they had reported about a group of special election officers who took custody of blank election returns (ERs) from the Lanao del Sur provincial treasurer's office in Marawi City on Sunday (27 May), said Maria Ressa, head of the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs.
"ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs condemns, in the strongest possible terms, these attempts to intimidate the members of our Newsgathering team. We would also like to warn those involved that their identities are known to us," Ressa said in a statement released on Tuesday (29 May). She added they are prepared to take legal action should the threats continue or should any harm come to Carandang, Alamar or any members of ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs.
Carandang's crew caught footage of Commission on Elections (Comelec) officers carrying the ERs to a hotel in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte— which is an hour and a half drive away from Marawi City. (ERs are used as basis for tallies and are also used as basis for the certificates of canvass brought before the Comelec's National Board of Canvassers.)
One of the poll officials was identified as Renault "Boy" Macarambon, a personality mentioned in the "Hello, Garci" recordings. The "Hello, Garci" recordings were a series of wiretapped conversations believed to be between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, allegedly discussing rigging in the 2004 presidential election.
Rene Sarmiento, the Comelec's commissioner-in-charge for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), earlier said he ordered officials to take custody of the ERs to ensure that they would not be used to rig the elections in parts of Lanao del Sur. People from the provincial treasurer's office however, said they were not informed about the said order.
On the other hand, Alamar had reported that Sarmiento denied ordering the transfer of the ERs. After viewing the footage, Sarmiento issued another statement contrary to his first. He said there was nothing unusual about the blank ERs being kept in a hotel for safekeeping.
In an interview with Alamar, Sarmiento even said he is "willing to resign if it is proven that it is irregular". On Monday (28 May), he resigned as head of the poll body's Task Force Maguindanao which was tasked to investigate poll fraud in the province. He cited health reasons saying he cannot physically head the investigation after overseeing the conduct of special elections in some areas in ARMM, including 13 municipalities of Lanao del Sur province.
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