Skillful

Cheers to ANC’s Pinky Webb for her determined and skillful questioning of Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. on the alleged kidnap and abduction by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of Melissa Roxas, a Filipino-American artist and member of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-USA.

In her affidavit, Roxas wrote that she, along with companions John Edward Jandoc and Juanito Carabeo, were forcibly shoved into a van, blindfolded and gagged by soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division in Tarlac. From May 19 until the date of her release, May 25, Roxas was kept in rooms reminiscent of a jail cell, and denied sleep and legal counsel, interrogated, threatened, and tortured by her abductors on accusations of being a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army (NPA).

Last June 29 over Dateline Philippines, Webb interviewed Brawner, AFP spokesperson, by phone for the military’s reaction to Roxas’s application for a writ of amparo.

“I can’t imagine the NPA having steel bar cells,” Webb said after Brawner blamed the NPA for the kidnap-abduction, adding that that such finger-pointing has become the knee-jerk response of the AFP whenever there are attempts to question the military on cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

“There’s an element of dissatisfaction because every time something like this comes up, the response is denial from the AFP,” Webb said. She directed Brawner to the case of the Manalo brothers, Raymond and Reynaldo, who had similarly applied for a writ of amparo after their escape from a military camp.

Webb also reminded Brawner that the Philippines has a dismal record on human rights, with an average of 900 cases of political killings since Gloria Arroyo came to power. This questioning elicited from Brawner an assurance of the AFP’s cooperation with investigations into Roxas’s case and other alleged human rights violations.

Meanwhile, as of this writing, Jandoc and Carabeo have yet to make a public statement regarding their kidnap-abduction.

The military has always been one of the most difficult institutions to solicit information from, even and especially when public interest and transparency demanded it. Asking at the right time key questions on the context, causes, and circumstances of an issue is vital in the delivery of news that can help the public understand what’s happening, but is unfortunately a skill lacking in too many broadcast and print journalists.

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