Photojournalist wounded in ambush; his nephew, 4, dies later

Attack on Remate photographer renews call for end to ‘media witness’ practice during anti-drug operations

MANILA – Unidentified assailants shot and wounded a photojournalist in Quezon City on June 29, 2023. Rene Joshua Abiad of Remate online sustained gunshot wounds in the hand and the shoulder. Six relatives who were with him in a sports utility vehicle and a bystander were also hurt in the attack. One of them, Abiad’s four-year-old nephew, died on July 2.

Abiad was with his family and they were about to enter their residence in Baranggay Masambong at around 3PM when the assailants struck. The gunmen fled towards Del Monte Avenue.

According to police, the tabloid photographer was the primary target. The police task force created to investigate the case is looking at all possible angles, including Abiad’s work.

‘Media Witness’

A June 29 Facebook post by Paul Gutierrez, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), said Abiad served as a “media witness” during anti-drug operations, suggesting that it may have something to do with the attack.

The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 requires anti-drug operatives to have journalists present during raids to act as witnesses. They to sign copies of the inventory of evidence seized in these operations. The provision has since been amended by Republic Act No. 10640, enacted on July 15, 2014, which made media’s presence in these police raids optional.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) started a campaign in 2018 called “Sign Against the Sign” after it received reports that law enforcement units continue to require journalists to sign inventory forms “often as a condition for being allowed to cover operations.” Some journalists, NUJP said, “are made to sign even if they did not actually witness the operation.” The campaign called on the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, as well as lawmakers, to end this practice.

Abiad’s shooting reopened discussions regarding the policy. NUJP, in a June 30 statement, noted that “while agreeing to be a witness in drug operations is commendable and no doubt done out of a sense of civic duty… the practice… puts colleagues at risk.”

On July 2, PTFoMS asked for media support to lobby in Congress the removal of media presence during anti-drug operations.

Intimidation

The ongoing practice has not only put at risk media workers but also subjected them to intimidation by state agents. On March 16, CMFR reported the harassment by members of the National Bureau of Investigation toward reporters who refused to sign on as witnesses after a police drug raid in Pasay City.

The assault on Abiad is the first case of a murder attempt against a media worker under the administration of President Marcos Jr. CMFR and NUJP have recorded 10 such attempts during the Duterte administration, from June 30, 2016, to June 29, 2022.

Three journalists were killed in the line of work during the first year of the Marcos administration; 178 were murdered since 1986. (CMFR)