By Martin Sadongdong The Philippine National Police (PNP) has clarified that there is no directive given to cops on the ground to require members of the media to seek permission first when reporting in public places. Philippine National Police spokesperson Brig. General Bernard Banac
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN) This clarification was made by Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac, PNP spokesperson, on Thursday night in response to a now viral Facebook post from DZBB radio reporter Mark Gene Makalalad who was confronted by four policemen after his live report. Makalalad, in his post, said he had just finished doing a live traffic report on Marcos Highway in Marikina City on Thursday when the cops asked for his identification card. Accordingly, the cops told him to seek permission from authorities first when doing a live report in a public place, which Makalalad claimed was unheard of in the PNP. At the height of the confrontation, one of the cops allegedly told Makalalad, "aka kasi sir kalaban ka (You might be an enemy)," according to the radio reporter. Makalalad did not provide the identities of the four policemen but he said the incident "ended peacefully." "We'll seek clarification from Marikina Police why our cops acted the way they acted. But definitely, we have no policy that requires media to ask prior permission from PNP to do live report in public places," Banac said. "The PNP treats media as ally and partner in maintenance of peace and order and will always uphold the freedom of the press," he added. Makalalad's encounter with the policemen was the latest incident involving authorities who seemed to interfere with media work. During this year's "Traslacion" last January 9, Police Brigadier General Nolasco Bathan, then chief of the Southern Police District (SPD) in the Metro Manila police, confiscated the cellphone of GMA television reporter Jun Veneracion. Veneracion had caught a clip of policemen taking down a devotee to the ground in his phone but Bathan ordered his men to delete the footage. Bathan initially denied he instructed his men to remove the clip while cursing but when told that it was caught in the video, he later apologized to Veneracion. He had stated that he was just doing his work to provide security for the devotees, claiming that he thought the reporter was holding a grenade. The PNP punished Bathan with a warning because of the incident. Coincidentally or not, Bathan had been promoted twice in just a week the following month as he went on to be the deputy regional director for administration of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), the second highest police official in Metro Manila.