Stereotyping Muslims again

JEERS TO ABS-CBN 2 and GMA-7 for stereotyping Muslims in their reports on an incident that had nothing to do with religion or religious affiliation.

The police arrested 14 supposedly armed men at the Rosauro Almario Elementary School in Tondo, Manila on election day, May 13, for supposedly acting “suspiciously.”

The news reports on the incident mentioned that the 14 men the police arrested were members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). But, labeling them “Muslims” was unnecessary, and could be inaccurate, since some MNLF members are not Muslims. Some are Highlander natives and Christian settlers.

ABS-CBN’s Doris Bigornia in a TV Patrol report said “Nasawata ng mga pulis ang labing-apat na Muslim ito…galing nga sila sa loob ng Almario Elementary School. Pero ‘yun daw ay hindi dapat para manggulo .(The police apprehended these 14 Muslims…but they said they were not at the Almario Elementary School to cause harm)…”

Bigornia added: “Hindi natin alam, Kabayan, kung itong insidenteng ito na panghuhuli sa labing-apat na mga Muslim na sinasabing kailangan daw nila ng proteksyon at kaya meron silang baril ay may kaugnayan dun sa ulat naman natin kani-kanina lamang na mayroong isang napatay dun sa Quiapo Bridge at yung patay na ‘yan ay mayroon ding na-recover ang mga pulis na ID, MNLF din ang nakalagay (We are not sure if this incident is related to the other report on a man found dead bearing an MNLF ID in Quiapo.)”

And yet, ABS-CBN’s own News and Current Affairs Standards Ethics Manual warns that “Crime reporting requires particular care with race, sexual orientation and religion. Any such information must be strictly relevant and scrupulously sourced. We should be aware of the risk of implying guilt by association.”

Because the men arrested were supposedly carrying guns, GMA-7’s Vice President for News Jessica Soho interviewed Philippine National Police Dir. Gen. Alan Purisima about the incident, and observed that “Alam naman natin sa mga kapatid nating Muslim na napakaimportante sa kanila ng baril (We know how important guns are to the Muslims).”

For his part, GMA-7 ‘s 24 Oras anchor Mike Enriquez, in an interview with Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, asked, “Mayor, puro Muslim ba ‘yung labing-apat na nadakip ng pulis Maynila (Mayor, are the 14 men arrested by the police all Muslims)?” To which the mayor answered: “Oo, puro Muslim po (Yes, they are all Muslims).”

The GMA News and Public Affairs’ Ethics and Editorial Manual suggests that “There are also facts better left out because these are either not important in understanding the news or simply tend to reinforce harmful stereotypes. Examples are characterizations of suspects or victims that include religion, ethnic group or sexual orientation. In news about bandits, for example, there is no need to identify the suspects’ religion or sexual orientation, unless this identity has a direct bearing on the news event.”