ILIGAN CITY – Various challenges encountered by journalists covering the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) were tackled in a roundtable discussion organized by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) in this city on Thursday, January 25.
Participating journalists, campus journalists, and journalism students from here, Cagayan de Oro, Marawi, and the province of Lanao del Sur shared their personal difficulties during the breakout session, stressing how these could affect their information gathering and the stories they want to produce.
MENZIE Montes of iFM Cagayan de Oro shares the challenges she encountered during a roundtable discussion organized by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in Iligan City on January 26. (Photo courtesy of Bobby Lagsa)
Challenges that were raised include unequal access to information, citing the occasionally alleged unfair treatment of media practitioners by sources who accordingly provide details only to select journalists.
It was clarified that the problem does not only exist in the BARMM but in other areas of the country as well.
The concern for safety and security was raised as some of the participants admitted that they are still afraid of covering some areas in the BARMM. Accessibility was also noted, particularly for freelance journalists who are not residents of the BARMM but have the need to cover the farthest towns in the region.
Language barrier and cultural sensitivities were at the top of the list of challenges emerging in communities.
An educator from Mindanao State University-Marawi who participated in the discussion urged journalists to learn the differences among the ethnolinguistic groups in the region, emphasizing the need for thorough research as it would help deliver proper reporting to the people in the area.
Participants were tasked with providing possible solutions to the challenges in the latter part of the session moderated by Robert Timonera, editor-in-chief of MindaNews.
The event moderated by Rowena Paraan, training director of PCIJ, aimed to strengthen press freedom in the region. The event was the third and last leg of a three-part series of PCIJ, the first two of which ere conducted in Cotabato and Zamboanga.
Carmela Fonbuena, executive director of PCIJ, an organization that produces investigative journalism and trains investigative journalists, emphasized press freedom as the agenda of the discussion, recognizing that journalists “cannot practice investigative journalism if there is no media freedom.”
Fonbuena expressed the need to strengthen press freedom in the region, considering that the 2025 parliamentary elections are approaching.
She emphasized the vital role of the media in informing the public on important issues and the stand of the soon-to-be candidates on these to enable the people to make informed decisions. ‘We recognize the importance of reporting these important issues,” she added.
Carolyn Arguillas, co-founder of MindaNews, delivered a detailed discussion about the BARMM during the event. Apart from providing the region’s history and related laws, she also discussed the possible angles that need to be followed up during parliamentary elections.
Shiela Mae Butlig, a journalist for Gold Star Daily, thanked PCIJ for the initiative that provided an understanding of how to strengthen press freedom in the region. “The insights I learned yesterday can surely be applied in my future stories that will involve our brothers and sisters in Bangsamoro,” she said in a Facebook post.