NCRPO: Plainclothes officers meant to be discreet for journalists
MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region Police Office defended its visits at media personalities' private residence, saying the decision not to wear uniform was meant to keep the visits light and discreet to avoid raising questions in neighborhoods.
Plainclothes police officers' unannounced visits to homes of journalists made news over the weekend, with some lawmakers saying attempts at coordination and dialogue should have been coursed through newsrooms and press clubs instead of directly at their homes.
Speaking in an interview aired over CNN Philippines' The Source, Police Lt. Col. Dexter Versola, NCRPO spokesperson, defended the visits as being done in good faith and without malice.
"May instances na some media personalities want to cover their identity o gusto nila maging discreet. Kung naka uniform naman, baka sabihin bakit may pulis dito," he said.
(There are instances where some media personalities want to cover their identity or they'd rather be discreet. If they were in uniform, someone might wonder why there are cops there.)
"The police are your partners. We are here to serve the public... The order was to reach out and gauge and see how are our friends in the media if there are threats on them based on their profession."
This comes after GMA broadcast journalist JP Soriano on Saturday recounted over Twitter how a police officer dressed in plainclothes visited his residence to ask whether he had recently received threats.
Section 1.1 of the PNP's Revised Police Operational Procedures reads: "A police officer shall always wear the prescribed uniform for the kind of police operation to be undertaken."
Versola pointed out that the visits came in response to the murder of radioman Percy Lapid and the subsequent online threats towards journalists referencing the murder.
He also admitted that the police asked local barangay officials for the addresses of journalists in their localities after Police Brig. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, NCRPO director, gave the order to visit them at their homes. Estomo has since retracted the order after it caused backlash online.
Asked about reports of police officers taking photos during their unannounced visits, Versola asserted: "Polite naman yung request ng police. It was just to show na nag comply kami sa order. Kung ayaw naman ng media, hindi namin pinipilit...if hindi na-appreciate yung approach, humihingi kami ng paumanhin."
(The request of the police was polite, and it was just to show that we complied with our orders. If the media doesn't want that, we won't force it...if that approach wasn't appreciate, then we're asking for forgiveness.)
NUJP raises concern
In the same interview, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines chairperson Jonathan de Santos, also an editor at this news website, welcomed the PNP's concern for the safety of journalists but questioned the decision to show up out of uniform.
"I suppose there's a strategic value to doing that. But still, it's concerning that they're doing police operations out of uniform. It could set a precedent for people who pretend to be cops," he said.
"It does sound a little bit like profiling, and it could easily cross over to surveillance... People who claim to be police officers can just come to your house and invade your privacy."
The NUJP also noted in a statement earlier that the "home visits" end up contributing to their anxiety, defeating its purpose of making journalists feel safe against possible threats.
In a separate statement, Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay 1st District) compared the unannounced visits to the PNP's Oplan Tokhang inspections under former president Rodrigo Duterte's so-called war on drugs.
"Crusading journalists need police protection from threats and harm, not police intrusion into their privacy," he said. "These veiled harassments must be stopped as they constitute attempts at prior restraint on the freedom of expression."
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