Lady Ann Salem, the editor of alternative news site Manila Today, was arrested by the authorities from her Mandaluyong City home yesterday.
The International Association of Women in Radio and Television said in an online statement that Salem’s house was raided at about 9am by members of the Criminal and Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). Salem works for the association as a communication officer.
Read: Rappler founder Maria Ressa charged with 2nd cyber libel complaint
The CIDG said that aside from Salem, six other people were arrested in separate raids for allegedly possessing loose firearms, namely Mark Ryan Cruz, Romina Raiselle Astudillo, Jaymie Gregorio, Dennise Velasco, Joel Demate, and Rodrigo Esparago. The police allegedly found the following from Salem and Esparago: four caliber .45 pistols, four grenades, four caliber .45 magazines, and 29 rounds of caliber .45 ammunition, among others. Other firearms were allegedly found from the other arrested suspects.
A separate statement released by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said that Manila Today was “baselessly red-tagged” by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict during a Senate hearing earlier this month. It added that Salem’s arrest is proof that the Duterte government “is bent on silencing the independent and critical Philippine media so it can manipulate the flow of information to the detriment of our people and of our democracy.”
Read: ABS-CBN retrenches workers after failing to get Congressional license
Red-tagging is the practice of accusing an individual or organization of supporting the communist party. The United Nations Human Rights Council has called out the Duterte administration for constantly red-tagging critics, activists, and journalists, saying that it leaves “a chilling effect on the legitimate work of human rights defenders in the country.”
Reader Interactions