“No journalist should be threatened for doing their jobs in delivering news and information to communities. We reiterate our call to defend press freedom and stop the attacks against the Filipino press.”
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – No journalist should be threatened for doing their job, said the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines.
This after the reported threats against Adrian Puse, a journalist and safety officer of Altermidya.
In a statement, Altermidya said Puse received multiple death threats on Sunday, Dec. 19 from a Facebook user named “Bob Dinelli.”
Among the threats that Puse received were “uunti-untiin kita”, “alam ko bahay mo at pinagtatrabahuhan mo” (I know where you work and live), and “huling pasko (mo) na ito” (this is your last Christmas).
The sender also named Puse’s sister, her address, and his girlfriend’s name and email address.
“Days before, Adrian’s girlfriend received a message asking her to ‘cooperate’ with the sender in settling a certain ‘injustice’ that Adrian had supposedly done. The sender also mentioned specific details of Adrian’s whereabouts, which are all obviously fabricated and could easily be disproved,” the group said in a statement.
Puse has been with Altermidya for two years.
Facebook has since taken down what appears to be a newly-created “Bob Dinelli” account.
“We condemn the continuing attempts to silence media practitioners with threats, harassment, cyberattacks, and intimidation. Independent journalists will not be coerced against these attacks against media freedom, especially now when our responsibility of truth-telling is more urgent than ever,” Altermidya said.
They added that these acts, “clearly meant to intimidate Adrian in his task as a journalist, are a serious concern amid unrelenting attacks against independent media, rights defenders, and the administration’s perceived critics.”
The threats against Puse happened just after the news of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against Rappler, Vera Files as well network giant ABS-CBN’s news website.
The NUJP meanwhile said that they stand with Altermidya in condemning the harassment against Puse.
“No journalist should be threatened for doing their jobs in delivering news and information to communities. We reiterate our call to defend press freedom and stop the attacks against the Filipino press,” the group said. (RTS, JJE)
