PTFoMS alarmed over murder raps vs. Masbate journos

MANILA – The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) has requested the provincial prosecutor of Masbate for clarification on the filing of a murder charge against two local journalists, who were also accused of membership with a local communist terrorist movement.

PTFoMS executive director Paul Gutierrez, in a letter to Masbate Provincial Prosecutor Jeremias Mapula, sought assurance that he adhered to the provisions of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in identifying local broadcasters Benjamin Gigante and Jose Alfaro as members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) and that there are enough evidence pointing to them as participants in the killing of a certain Richard Bauso in Cawayan town on April 6.

Specifically, Gutierrez sought clarification if the purported membership of Gigante and Alfaro with the CPP-NPA was validated by the appropriate intelligence units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.

Gutierrez reminded Mapula that as the government's mechanism to address all violations on the right to life, liberty, and security of all members of the media, the PTFoMS is chaired by the Secretary of Justice "with the full support of all the attached agencies of DOJ, including the National Prosecution Service, of which you are a part of."

Citing a media report, Gutierrez noted that in an earlier incident, the local court recalled the warrant of arrest for Gigante, Alfaro and three other local journalists on July 26 over the killing of one Virgil Arriesgado in August 2022, with the criminal information also prepared by Mapula.

"In both incidents, it appeared these local media personalities were first accused of being members of the local communist terrorist movement in Masbate before being linked to the murder of the victims," Gutierrez said.

While conceding that Mapula may have "sufficient basis" to link Gigante and Alfaro to the CPP-NPA and the killing of Bauso, Gutierrez noted that in some instances, local journalists who found disfavor in the eyes of some local officials are accused of other crimes or membership in terrorist organizations, which is tantamount to the commission of SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation).

A SLAPP suit is a retaliatory legal act aimed at intimidating and distracting the accused from pursuing his original complaint against his accuser or suppressing his right to free speech and expression, Gutierrez noted. (PNA)