Unethical and inflammatory

JEERS TO several news organizations for in effect glorifying violence, pandering to anti- Muslim sentiments, and being grossly insensitive to the already grief stricken families of those killed in the Jan. 25 Mamasapano clash when they published screengrab photos and/or aired footage from a gory video taken by an unidentified person or persons at the height of the fighting.

BUT CHEERS to ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol which refrained from showing the video or parts of it. Their Feb. 11 report “Viral Video” proved that there are alternatives to reporting the horror of the Jan. 25 incident without resorting to the display of blood and gore. The segment included interviews with Justice Sec. Leila De Lima instructing the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Anti-Cybercrime Division to validate the footage, National Capital Region Police Office C/Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr. on the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s views, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) First Vice Chairman Ghazali Jaafar on the group’s statement, and Malacañang’s request to take the video down.

A six-minute video later authenticated by the NBI was uploaded on social media showing a PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) commando being shot twice at close range in the corn fields where the encounter happened. The video went viral on Feb. 11.

Despite the video’s graphic content, 9TV’s Network News, GMA-7’s 24 Oras, TV5’s Aksyon aired parts of it, although they warned the TV audience about it and blurred parts of the clips they aired.

Network News showed most of the footage accompanied with its own dramatic narration: “…Our videographer seems to be struggling with something and then he begins to run. He catches up with and falls behind one other fighter who walks with the air of one who knows the lay of this bloodied land. They passed by a few other rebels huddled over and standing near bodies on the ground, one of them with his helmet on. The man with the cellphone keeps walking and comes across more bodies as if he is recording for posterity….”

The Manila Times published on its front page unpixelated photos from the video with the caption: “NO MERCY | This photo of a video clip that went viral on Facebook shows a Muslim rebel finishing off a wounded police commando.”

The Daily Tribune published on its front page a pixilated photo of the video clip. The accompanying story “Execution video sparks outrage vs MILF deal” read: “A footage likely taken from a mobile phone operated by a Muslim militant during the Mamasapano massacre last Jan. 25 showing the execution of wounded Special Action force (SAF) commandos may have solidified public opposition to the pursuit of a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).”

The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star, and Malaya published cropped screengrab photos of the video clip.

Unwittingly or not, the airing and publication of such acts of violence is likely to have contributed to the spread of the objectionable content and instead of helping the public to better understand the Mamasapano incident, further stoked already widespread opposition to the peace agreement between the MILF and the government.

The video had yet to be validated by official sources at the time and an investigation into who were behind the “overkill” of the 44 SAF commandos is still ongoing. Arbitrarily assigning blame for the violence and using emotionally-laden terms such as “massacre” or “carnage” not only ignore the complexity of the situation, but also boost already high levels of anti-Muslim sentiments. Compassion was also sacrificed by the news reports’ intrusion into the privacy and grief of the people involved, particularly the slain SAF commando and his family.