Man who poked gun, robbed reporter in Angeles City demolition nabbed

The man who allegedly poked a gun and robbed a reporter covering a demolition in Angeles City is now under police custody, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) said Thursday.

“(The) Armed man who poke gun, threatened and robbed lady reporter during bloody demolition in Angeles City last Tuesday, March 12, 2024, (is) already under PTFoMS/PNP custody,” it said in a statement.

According to the task force, several members of the press were harassed during their coverage of the violent demolition in Sitio Balubad, Barangay Anunas on Tuesday.

One of them was Rowena Quejada, a news anchor and field reporter for 88.7 K5 News FM in Olongapo City, who was threatened and assaulted.

“Quejada, along with her fellow reporters, went to Sitio Balubad to cover the demolition. The ensuing violence resulted in five of the residents being wounded, two of them from gunshot wounds fired by still unidentified armed men,” the PTFoMS said in a separate statement on Wednesday.

Citing the narration of Quejada, PTFoMS said one of the armed men pointed his gun at the journalist after he saw her filming the commotion. He also allegedly threatened to kill her.

“She added a Japanese national and his Filipina wife took pity on her and hurried her inside their house located near the scene of the violence,” added the task force.

“Quejada said the armed men followed and even looted the couple’s house of cellphones and laptops after failing to locate her,” it added.

The armed man also confiscated her personal belongings including her cellphone, the PTFoMS said.

Quejada was initially reported missing by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) but the group later announced that she had been located and was already safe.

Aside from her, Joann Manabat of Rappler also received threats, according to the PTFoMS.

Investigation

PTFoMS executive director Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez said that they are planning to launch an investigation into the violent demolition.

“Not only were media rights violated and a reporter assaulted and threatened with death, which is the mandate of the PTFoMS under Administrative Order (AO) No. 1, the human rights of other marginalized sectors were also grossly violated,” he said.

Task Force head Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres, meanwhile, said they will also check the legality of the demolition as well as the methods of dispersal against the protesters.

“While the alleged perpetrators are non-state actors, we nonetheless condemn the use of violence which resulted to injuries,” he said.

“We will conduct a thorough investigation on the private company involved and determine the legality of the demolition including the methods used in the dispersal of the crowd,” he added. —Joviland  Rita/ VAL, GMA Integrated News