Defense, police reporters harness their firearms-handling skills at Crame

Write better and shoot straight.

Around 40 journalists covering the military and the national police beat were given "hands on" training by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and gun club organizers yesterday on the proper use of handguns and safety skills.

Taking a breather from their pens and computer laptops, journalists comprising the PNP and the Defense Press Corps were given the seminar on gun safety skills.

No less than actor Eddie Garcia, himself a gun enthusiast, taught the scribes how to handle handguns in self-defense.

The gun safety seminar was launched by the PNP which had offered to provide security to media practitioners who are "under threat" following a series of attacks that claimed the lives of 17 journalists in the past 17 months.

The seminar was held at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City and initiated by the Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers (AFAD), the Philippine Practical Shooting Association (PPSA) and the Professional Responsible Owners of Guns (PROGun).

"We are aware of the formidable risks involved in the daily life of members of the media whether in print, television or radio," AFAD president Ner Dionisio told the journalists during the event.

Along with gun safety seminars, the journalists were treated to a three-stage shooting competition supervised by the National Range Officers Institute (NROI) headed by Ray Olaquer and PPSA president Chito Canteras.

Garcia himself joined the competition with the journalists in "shooting their way out" of a worst-case scenario.

This year alone, five journalists have been murdered, bringing the number of media practitioners killed to 68 since democracy was restored in the country in 1986.

Most of these killings have been unsolved, according to New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The CPJ described the Philippines as the most murderous country for reporters in the world.

The Paris-based industry watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also reported the Philippines was among the world’s most dangerous places for journalists, along with Bangladesh, Colombia and Iraq.

The spate of media killings triggered calls for journalists and other sectors to arm themselves while on duty.

The authorities also offered official permits to allow "threatened" journalists to carry their own firearms to work.

Lawmakers added the media killings had reached "crisis" proportions.

But some quarters have opposed the idea of arming journalists.

One lawmaker, former national security advisor and Parañaque City Rep. Roilo Golez, said the idea of arming newsmen would set a bad precedent for other sectors demanding the same privilege.

The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) also claimed that allowing journalists to carry firearms would not solve the problem.

The Gunless Society of the Philippines headed by Nandy Pacheco also opposed the idea of arming journalists.

AFAD, however, justified the gun safety training for journalists.

"Often AFAD members have been branded as ‘merchants of death.’ But we see ourselves more as a ‘merchants of peace‚’ because in the delicate balance of power, peace and order, the barrel of the proverbial gun is critical to the preservation of peace," Dionisio told the journalists.

Joel Sy-Egco, president of the Association of Responsible Media (ARM), said knowledge of proper gun use could make a big difference in the lives of journalists.

Egco heads a group of journalists calling for the right to arm themselves in the line of duty.

"We are non-violent individuals and criminals will always have the advantage against us if we don’t know how to deal with them. And handling and using a gun, if the need arises against these criminals, is a must for us," Egco said.