The suprise visit of the police to a journalist’s home is similiar to the supposed “profiling of teachers,” House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said on Sunday, Oct. 16.
Castro raised alarm over the unannounced visit by a plainclothes police officer to the private residence of GMA 7 reporter JP Soriano to “check” on his security.
“Nakakabahala ito kasi ganito din ang ginawa sa mga teachers na pinuntahan sa bahay pero pinoprofile na pala sila. Kasunod naman nun ay tumindi na ang red-tagging sa mga guro (This is alarming because the same was done to the teachers wherein they were visited in their homes, but they were being profiled. What comes next is the worsening red-tagging of teachers),” she said in a statement.
The lawmaker noted an incident in Masbate where she said the Philippine Army soldiers have been visiting teachers who attend the meeting of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).
Just last month, she likewise shared that village officials were sent by the police to the private residence of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) secretary general Renato Reyes to “validate details” about him.
“The problem with these supposed 'visits' though are they are not mere visits because by doing so they are illegally accessing and/or disclosing and/or using personal information, including sensitive personal information like residence and political leanings, perceived or actual, of the people they are supposedly visiting,” Castro said.
In a tweet on Saturday, Oct. 15, Soriano recounted his experience after a policeman suddenly showed up at his home and checked on him if he had received any recent threats.
The surprise visit was conducted by the police to Soriano’s home following the murder of radio commentator Percy Lapid and online threats against fellow broadcast journalists Ed Lingao and Lourd de Veyra.
While National Capital Region Police (NCRPO) chief Police Brigadier General Jonnel Estomo already apologized for the incident and ordered a halt to these visits, Castro is seeking a congressional inquiry into the matter.
READ: NCRPO apologizes, tells commanders to refrain from visiting journalists’ home
“We think that this incident has to be investigated by Congress and should not be taken as an isolated incident and be viewed on the wider perspective of media harassment, red-tagging and extra-judicial killings," she said.
"We want to have a copy of the memorandum ordering the visits as well as pose questions on its operationalization as this type of move only caused more anxiety to media practicioners as pointed out by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)," she added.