MILITANT CONGRESSMAN JV Bautista of Sanlakas recently expressed his
outright disapproval over President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s act
of harassing and intimidating GMA-7 reporter Tina-Panganiban Perez
due to the latter’s alleged connection with Makati mutiny.
Rep. Bautista, who stood in defense of Panganiban-Perez said, “this
act of the President simply confirmed the allegation of the mutineers
that she was indeed arrogant.”
“The Constitution is clear when it says that no law shall be passed
abridging the freedom of the press. And the declaration of the state
of rebellion should not be deemed over and above that Constitutional
guarantee,” the militant solon added.
“We’re right ever since when we said that under the state of rebellion,
anyone could be accused of abetting rebellion. Now, even the media
is reaping the unjustness of that unconstitutional palace directive,”
Bautista stressed.
“If the government can do this to the media, what more to the ordinary
people?” he asked.
Unbelievable
Bautista also slammed deputy spokesperson Ricardo Saludo’s statement
that the government is not engaged in “spying on the media or in the
harassment of reporters in the conduct of their legitimate work.”
“It is the President herself who claimed that she had assets who
saw Panganiban-Perez with Honasan during the period of mutiny in Makati.
If that is not spying, what else should we call that? It’s hard to
believe that Panganiban-Perez was just “encountered by chance by intelligence
assets,” he explained.
Not the Role of the Media
Bautista also said that Macapagal certainly has no right to dictate
the media about the manner of their reporting. He added, “These mediamen
are professionals and would not be in that kind of profession for
nothing.”
“It is not the role of media to make the government appear and look
good, it is the role of the PR men of Malacañang. If in the eyes of
Malacañang, media is not reporting good, poking a knife on their news
would be the worst thing to suppress the truth,” Bautista asserted.
Lastly, Bautista told media that it must be more vigilant in defending
their profession and must not be swayed by any forms of state intimidation
and harassment.
