MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday clarified that it continues to reach out to media outlets for closer coordination and collaboration for better information dissemination to the public.
PNP Director General Oscar Albayalde made the statement in response to reports that police officers asked for favorable coverage during their visit to a local newspaper’s office in Bacolod City.
“Of course not. ‘Yung favorable coverage, eh di sana wala nang masasamang comments kayo hindi ba (If it is a favorable coverage, you should not have negative comments, right?) Pero (But) this is press freedom, whether it’s bad or good, whether it’s a bad criticism or constructive criticism, walang problema yan sa amin (we don’t have any problems with that),” Albayalde said.
Albayalde said the visit was just part of the PNP’s Oplan Santinig and Oplan Ugnayan, which aims to enhance the relationship between the police and the public.
The memorandum was based on the verbal instruction of the chief PNP, PNP’s Oplan Santinig and memorandum from the national police headquarters.
He said the police visit in media offices is just a “friendly gesture.”
“Hindi naman ‘yung papasok ka doon na armado (The police will not enter the office armed),” he added.
Citing the weekly press briefings held in Camp Crame, Albayalde said he wants to keep the people across the country informed on updates regarding peace and order.
“Ganyan din ang gusto natin mangyari sa baba (That is what we also want to happen on the ground). Even when I was a junior officer, kapag may magandang accomplishment ‘yung pulis natin nakikiusap tayo na kung pwede i-publish para hindi naman ‘yung puro masasama ‘yung napa-publish na ganun. Yun lang ang gusto natin (if our police officers have an accomplishment, we ask if we can have it published so that the reports will not always be negative. That’s the only thing we want.) We want balanced news kaya tayo nakikipag-coordinate sa mga kaibigan natin sa media (that is why we coordinate with our media friends),” he stressed. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
