Media vans barred from entering Camp Crame

Is there Martial Law inside Camp Crame?

Police officers detailed at the gate of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame in Quezon City yesterday barred marked media vehicles from entering the camp.

Held at the EDSA Gate for more than 20 minutes were the vehicles of GMA-dzBB, dwIZ and ABC-5. On-duty police officers simply explained that the order came from the PNP Operations.

Benjie Liwanag Jr., dzBB reporter, called PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, PNP Deputy Chief for Operation Oscar Calderon and PNP Base Commanders Chief Superintendent Geary Barias to clarify the orders.

The three ranking police officials, however, could not explain why members of the Base Police have barred media vehicles yesterday morning.

"I’ve been covering the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for more than eight years and it’s very seldom that strict security is implemented," said Liwanag, a former PNP Press Corps president.

Liwanag recalled that a similar strict security measure was observed during the EDSA people power uprising in January 2001 when former President Joseph Estrada was ousted from Malacañang.

"If indeed strict security measures were in place, why is it that they allow private vehicles to enter without searching the cars," the media men asked.

The measure was implemented a day after the PNP and the AFP lowered the alert level from full to heightened status after the tension caused by the controversial revelations of former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Samuel Ong has subsided.

After Calderon ordered on-duty police officers to allow the mediamen to enter the camp, police officers told reporters to just stay at the PNP Public Information Office (PIO).

ABC-5 reporter Haidi Santos and her crew were reportedly also accosted by Camp security personnel on Monday afternoon for taking video footages inside Camp Crame.

"Bawal kumuha dito baka gusto mo ipa-ban kita (You cannot shoot here. We could have you banned from enterring the place)," a policeman was quoted as telling Santos and her cameraman Arnel Guiao.

Batoil defended on-duty security personnel by saying, "It’s a camp so there are certain regulations to follow. It happens from time to time, especially when the police are on red alert status. It doesn’t mean the order was meant for mediamen."

He apologized, however, for the inconvenience but failed to justify the sudden strict security measures.