Philippine television reporter Susan Enriquez speaks during a hearing at the Department of Justice in Manila on September 8, 2010
'Police did not stop us from covering'
By Ira Pedrasa, abs-cbnNEWS.com
09/08/2010
MANILA, Philippines - Had authorities stopped the media from covering the hostage crisis last August 23, GMA Network Inc. news producer Susan Enriquez said she would have followed.
Testifying before the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) on Wednesday, Enriquez said nobody called her attention to stop the live feed she was giving her station at the time that the brother of hostage-taker was being arrested by the police.
A dismissed police officer, Rolando Mendoza, took hostage 21 Hong Kong tourists and 4 Filipinos on August 23 demanding his reinstatement in the Philippine National Police.
The subsequent arrest of his brother Gregorio, which he supposedly saw on GMA-7, was one of the tipping points of the negotiations being done then. After almost 12 hours, the crisis ended in a bloodbath, with 9 dead including the gunman himself.
Enriquez told the Incident Investigation and Review Committee “susunod naman ako kapag may sinabi ang authorities.”
She raised as an example the Manila Peninsula siege in November 2007 where the police formally relayed the message to members of the media to stop rolling their cameras.
She said she followed even if they were then in the middle of covering the incident.
“Inutusan lang ako ng office…marami nang media ang nandun, hindi ako nagsosolo,” she said of this latest incident.
Prior restraint
Had there been any directive during commotion involving the hostage-taker's brother, Enriquez said she would not have heard or caught it since she arrived on the scene already too late.
She said she was at the network van near the command post when her bosses told her to cover the incident involving Gregorio. She claimed that by the time she got there, other members of the media were already covering how Gregorio broke free from the clutches of the police.
Pressed by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo on exercising prior restraint, Enriquez said “running story na yun e…tsaka, in the absence of the request from authorities…yung mga ganung [directive] naman, ika-cascade sa mga nasa field.”
She said the incident had become a big issue, considering the involvement of foreign hostages.
“May mga guidelines kami sa ganyang coverage, siguro naging fluid na lang yung sitwasyon nun,” she said.
Her answers also prompted the review committee to think about interviewing network or station managers and producers with regard to policies on covering similar incidents.
Talk with Mendoza
Enriquez, however, stressed she exercised prior restraint by not crossing so-called police lines.
In fact, the “police line” can only be found near the bus itself, she said.
She also stressed she did not use an earlier “talk” with Mendoza in any of her reports.
Then Manila Police District chief Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay had asked that she talk to Mendoza, as had been requested by the hostage-taker.
“It’s our policy not to give air time to hostage-takers. We can’t act as negotiators. Pero ipinaliwanag niya (Magtibay) na gusto ako kausapin…He said ipapakiusap lang kita sa phone, hindi ka namin papayagan na pumasok sa bus,” she said.
Mendoza supposedly asked for her specifically since she remembered her from a previous coverage involving former President Joseph Estrada.
She said the phone call lasted about 4 to 5 minutes. She did not, at any time, ask questions.
“Pinabayaan ko lang magkwento. I just listened…Ang pakiramdam ko nun, gusto lang ni Captain Mendoza na maikwento sa media practitioner,” she said.
She stressed “hindi iyon (interview) na-ere. Hindi rin yun live.”
Recommendations
Asked if she would cover a similar incident in the future in the same manner that she covered the August 23 crisis, she said: “Meron dapat improvements.”
Enriquez, who appeared with a lawyer, tried to dodge questions if members of the media had been part of the fiasco.
“Personally, kung mangyari uli, dapat may area na designated na for the media. May ia-assign na mag-brief sa media…Susunod naman ang responsible journalists,” she said.
She also noted that her network is already reviewing existing policies in terms of the responsibilities of employees in covering such incidents.