It’s already a tough world for journalists in the Philippines.
Being accused of being “biased,” “anti-government” or being called just plain “evil,” especially by online trolls, is just a fact of life most reporters have to live with.
But for reporters covering Metro Manila’s transportation sector, a joke made by an official from the Metro Manila Development Agency (MMDA) official crossed the line.
According to a report in the Philippine Star, Jojo Garcia, MMDA’s assistant general manager joked about reporters who write “negative” stories about the government during a press conference on Wednesday.
“Where’s my .45? Let’s include them in tokhang,” referring to the government’s Oplan Tokhang, a portmanteau of two Visayan words meaning to “knock and plead,” where local officials would visit the homes of drug suspects and list down names. Many names on this list were later killed in either police operations or by unidentified armed men.
Reporters from local outlets the Philippine Star, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, TV5, and Rappler were present at the conference and all recorded the same quote from Garcia.
According to the Manila Bulletin, communications undersecretary, former journalist, and executive director of the task force on violence against journalists Joel Egco criticized the joke.
“A reporter I have known for years brought this to my attention. Before I publicly call on the official and lecture him on Admin Order no. 1, or ‘red flag’ him for such a horrible joke, I’d like to ask other reporters who were there to verify via PM to me. Thank you. Surely, my informant claimed they felt the chill. He started a joke… let’s see who starts crying,” Egco wrote on his official Facebook account yesterday.
The MMDA has not yet issued a statement on the matter.
According to Reporters Without Borders, the Philippines is still one of the most dangerous places for media workers. It ranked 127 out of 180 countries in the organization’s 2017 survey.
In 2009, the Philippines was ranked the most dangerous place for journalists after 18 of 60 people killed in the Maguindanao massacre were identified as media workers.
