Armed Man Threatens Journalists in Bulacan

CMFR/PHILIPPINES — A group of journalists was reportedly threatened by a lone gunman in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan on 21 June 2019. Bulacan is 42 km north of Manila.

Philippine Daily Inquirer Bulacan correspondent Carmela Reyes-Estrope said she and four other journalists were riding in a Mitsubishi Adventure provided by the Bulacan Provincial Office when a motorcycle-riding man stopped their vehicle along Igay Road in San Jose Del Monte City.

Estrope was with Louie Angeles (dwIZ), Isagani Navarro (cameraman of GMA-7 stringer Rommel Ramos), Frederick Silverio (The Manila Times) and his wife Eloisa Silverio (iOrbitNews online).

Estrope said they had just covered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) water sampling in Wacuman Sanitary Landfill in Norzagaray, Bulacan when the incident happened. “The armed man blocked our path and asked for the mobile number of Bulacan Provincial Engineer Glen Reyes, who was with the DENR team in the sampling,” Estrope said.

Federico Rivas, driver of the vehicle, said he saw the motorcycle-riding man tailing them since they left Wacuman. He also said that the man openly displayed his firearm.

Estrope had already filed a report detailing how the man threatened them to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) and the provincial Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).

Erick Silverio, president of the Bulacan Press Club (BPC), condemned the incident, calling it an attack on press freedom. Silverio questioned the alleged presence of armed men in the province despite the continuous anti-crime operations being conducted by the police. He added that they have been receiving reports that armed men are roaming around the city.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said such brazen display of force against unarmed media workers should not be tolerated as it puts the lives of the journalists in extreme danger, especially under the current administration whose only solution to almost every problem is to kill. It also called on the authorities to “investigate the incident, identify the gunman and bring him to court.”