ILOILO City – Police in this city assured the local press of their safety.
Journalists working in the metro are “very safe” and have nothing to worry about with regard to their security, said Superintendent Martin Defensor, director of the Iloilo City Police Office.
Defensor was one of the guests during the Seminar on Media Security that the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) held on Dec. 5 at the Iloilo Convention Center in Mandurriao district.
“One hundred percent commitment ang i-hatag namon sa mga media practitioners regarding sa safety nila,” Defensor said.
According to the city police chief, they have not received any report on threats to the life of local journalists since when drug lord Melvin “Boyet” Odicta was killed.
The ICPO considers the local press its partners, said Defensor. Media has an important role in spreading awareness on the programs and projects of the government, he added.
The press – the so-called fourth estate – is hugely influential, Defensor stressed. “The public listen to you.”
Undersecretary Jose Joel Sy Egco, executive director of the PTFoMS, led the seminar that tackled the operational guidelines and protocols of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Administrative Order No. 1 that created the task force.
The PTFoMS comprises the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Justice.
Around 20 media practitioners from across Western Visayas attended the seminar.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, Philippine Press Institute, Publishers’ Association of the Philippines, Inc., and the National Press Club were invited, too./PN
