Two radio reporters cry foul over refusal to enter Camp Aguinaldo

By Ronron
February 8, 2008

Two radio reporters covering the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
were barred from entering Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City yesterday
morning.

Benjie Liwanag, Jr. of DZBB (GMA-7 Network) and Noel Alamar of DZMM
(ABS-CBN Network) cried foul when they were not allowed to enter the
main AFP camp despite having military-accredited identification cards
and military stickers on their media-marked vehicles.

Liwanag said that while the incident may not be a direct assault on
press freedom, the failure of the military policemen to give a reason
for their prevention does not speak well of the professionalism of the
AFP.

Liwanag and Alamar, in their complaint letter to AFP Public
Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, said: "For your
information, we tried to enter EDSA Gate 3 of the camp en-route to the
press office for our normal day-to-day news-gathering, but the grounds
on duty refused us entry without letting us know the reason."

"They also refused to honor the AFP authorized decals in our
marked-media vehicles and individual AFP PIO accredited media
identification cards," they added.

Liwanag said the incident happened past 8:45 am.

In a news conference, Bacarro explained that the military policemen
assigned at the gate were actually implementing a sudden order to bar
media from entering the camp because of a tension involving a wife of
a detained officer.

Bacarro was referring to Mrs. Maria Flor Querubin, wife of Marine Col.
Ariel Querubin, who allegedly planned to put up streamers at the gates
of Camp Aguinaldo with markings against the AFP leadership. Mrs.
Querubin supposedly planned to invite media personalities to cover her
activities.

"Immediately, a standard operating procedure was implemented for the
military police. We made some arrangements to prevent the conduct of
interview by the media inside the camp because of course, it will
embarrass the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Of course, you don't
want other people to mess around your own territory," Bacarro told
reporters.

But Bacarro said the order was immediately lifted 30 minutes later.

"You have never been banned," Bacarro told Liwanag and Alamar at his office.

Liwanag said the order, nevertheless, already prevented him and Alamar
from covering the activity of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff
Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. inside Camp Aguinaldo.

Liwanag said the military should be able to address this kind of
matter swiftly because it effectively stops the media from doing its
job.

The issue on press freedom was hot in the country in the last few
months following the apprehension of newsmen at the Manila Peninsula
Hotel last November 29, 2007 who were covering its takeover by the
Magdalo Group, led by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Army Brig. Gen.
Danilo Lim./DMS