Reporter assaulted, files charges
CMFR/PHILIPPINES—A television reporter in Iloilo City filed on 22 December 2008 charges against a woman involved in a road mishap she was covering who allegedly assaulted her. Iloilo City is approximately 455 kms from Manila.
GMA-7 reporter Charlene Belvis filed charges of slander by deed, grave oral defamation, and physical injuries against Andrea Gorriceta. Belvis, 24, sustained scratches and bruises after Gorriceta allegedly attacked her inside the Jaro district police station.
The news website Inquirer.net reported that Gorriceta, who was allegedly involved in a road mishap, attacked Belvis after apparently getting irked when Belvis and her crew continued taking footage of her and her car despite her request not to.
Footage from GMA-7’s primetime news program 24 Oras showed Gorriceta, 27, slapping Belvis on the side of her head. Gorriceta was also seen pulling Belvis’ hair, until she fell to the floor inside the Jaro district police station at around 3:55 a.m (local time) of the same day.
In a phone interview with the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, Belvis said she had repeatedly told Gorriceta that she was “Sorry, I have to. It’s my job.”
The Inquirer.net report said Gorriceta allegedly hit a certain Ria Aquino earlier while parking her car in front of the MO2 bar and restaurant in Mandurriao district, Iloilo City. She also allegedly bumped into a concrete post, the report said.
The Iloilo chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the attack. “Even if we grant that the television team went overboard in taking videos of the incident despite the request of Ms. Gorriceta, the physical attack on Ms. Belvis cannot be justified,” NUJP said in a statement.
“We also raise questions why it was possible for Ms. Belvis to be physically manhandled inside the Jaro police station in front of policemen,” NUJP added.
The Commission of Human Rights (CHR) in Western Visayas also said that although Gorriceta has a right to privacy, Belvis on the other hand has the responsibility to inform the public.
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