Carlos wants men to really ‘Engage’ the media
I fully support the decision of PNP chief, General Dionards Carlos to require his officials to engage the media as they prepare to ensure the honest and peaceful conduct of the 2022 national and local elections.
‘Engaging’ the media means field commanders must be ready 24/7 to dish out accurate and timely information to the press so that there won’t be any more room for speculative reports and innuendoes, the 27th PNP chief who also used to be a former PNP spokesperson told me.
Our top cop is speaking from experience and he told me that he is highly confident that his field commanders are mature enough to handle information that the media needs and needs to have a program similar to the old Talakayan sa Isyung Pulis or TSIP which was a good source of information started by another former PNP spokesperson, now retired Gen. Sammy Pagdilao.
Gen. Carlos also informed me that he will instruct all his 17 Regional Directors, their Provincial and City Directors and Chiefs of Police and their respective public information officers and spokesperson to be always ready to talk to the press especially when it comes to major breaking news.
The PNP chief and his spokesperson, Colonel Roderick Alba needs all the support and cooperation they can get from police commanders in fielding questions being thrown to them when these in fact can be easily answered by the right men in the field.
One fine example is the killing of journalist Jess Malabanan, a founding member of the PNP Press Corps in 1991. I learned that there really was a delay in the release of information and other recommended actions from the Police Regional Office 8 regarding the murder of Malabanan who happened to be a friend of mine.
Malabanan was shot dead by an unidentified gunman while watching television inside his family’s store in Calbayog City in Samar around 6:30 p.m. last Wednesday. The assassin fled on board a motorcycle being driven by a cohort. May God bless his soul and may He immediately lead the local police to the real killers and their ‘mastermind.’
Dishing out immediate information to the press—in line with the PNP’s transparency program—should be of major interest to all concerned police commanders. In cases like that of Malabanan, I believe that the local police should immediately feed up the media with initial reports, just the basic-Who, What, When, Where, Why and How?
There is also a need to assure the victim’s family of all-out efforts being conducted to identify and arrest the killers thru the creation of so-called SITGs or Special Investigation Task Groups without giving information that would jeopardize the ongoing investigation.
There is also a major need to assign a single officer/spokesperson who will talk about the ongoing investigation, one who knows the ins-and-outs of dealing with the press to prevent the possibility he may be misquoted or the possibility that a single statement he whispers will trigger more speculations.
To prevent the possibility of being misquoted, spokespersons as well as RDs and PDs must always be ready to have their presscon recorded on video by their men. This is a very good defense in case one bias reporter unfairly misquotes the official or put words into his mouth.
I’m giving these words of advice as the PNP prepares to guard next year’s polls and implement aggressive measures to prevent further attacks on elected officials and other personalities in the country which tend to catch the attention of the media and trigger reports they are already election-related violent incidents.
Gen. Carlos said that although these incidents are yet to be considered as Election-Related Violent Incidents or ERVIs, they be immediately addressed and solved as soon as possible as they may pose a threat to the peaceful conduct of the 2022 national and local elections.
The PNP chief for that matter directed all his RDs, PDs and CDs as well as their COPs and commanders of Mobile Force Battalions to take all the appropriate steps to prevent gun-related violent incidents.
This means that police are now under orders to further step-up their foot and mobile patrols, deploy undercover officers and launch an all-out campaign against illegal firearms and private armed groups in their jurisdiction to prevent similar bloody and headline-hogging incidents from taking place.
Gen. Carlos referred to shooting incidents over the past few weeks that left some elected officials and other candidates or their supporters dead or wounded although he said that it is too early to say that they are election-related.
As of yesterday, concerned police units are still tracking down the gunmen involved in those attacks and are looking for all possible witnesses and other leads including CCTV footages that could lead them to the solution of the cases.
They include the assassination of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte Sangguniang Bayan member Apolonio Medrano who was shot dead while about to board his vehicle after attending the traditional flag-raising ceremony in the municipality on Monday morning.
Then there is also the case of two Basilan mayors who were shot by unidentified gunmen in Zamboanga City last Monday. Gen. Carlos directed Lieutenant Gen. Chiqui Malayo, the PNP Area Commander for Western Mindanao to coordinate pursuit operations by the Police Regional Office 9 and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region police force against the gunmen who allegedly escaped aboard a motorized boat.
Gen. Carlos said that since the pursuit may involve overlapping regional jurisdictions, the APC-WM is in a better position to coordinate operations by PNP Regional and National Support Units, as well as with Armed Forces and Coast Guard units in the area.
Four gunmen attacked Mayor Alih Awal Sali of Akbar Basilan, Mayor Darussalam Saguindilan Lajid of Al-Barka Basilan; and driver Barad Nuruddin at 8:31 a.m. Monday in Seaside, Barangay Baliwasan, Zamboanga City.
The victims sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to the hospital for immediate medical treatment but Mayor Darussalam Lajid and the driver Nuriddin were declared dead on arrival by the attending physician. The suspects fled after the commission of the crime with motorized boat and one white car as their gate away vehicles. Police are looking into possible ‘Rido’ or clan feud as one of the motives behind the Zamboanga City attack, I was told.
