By Katrina Gracia Consebido
There are no recorded election-related incidents involving the media during the recently held national and local polls, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Wednesday, May 18.
The PNP said the recorded cases of threats, harassments, stabbing, and shooting incidents to the members of the media in their line of duty from Feb. 14 to May 16 “were not related to the election activities” in Regions 5, 8, 10, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
PNP Officer-in-Charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. said the launching of the Media Vanguards “made a huge impact” in protecting the members of the media who served as the information frontliners during the May 9 polls.
Danao added that the foundation built between the PNP and the media “have brought a wider audience to help in news dissemination and election awareness.”
“It became a tool for the PNP to reach a wider audience with the premise that these vital information can help in increasing the public’s awareness of the developments in this election,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Danao expressed his gratitude to those who helped in securing peaceful and orderly elections and vowed to take deeper investigation on the reported election-related incidents. – gb
