“In moments of crisis, clarity is resistance, and truth is the nation’s defense.”

CAGAYAN DE ORO — The recent chaos at the Senate made people appreciate the role of the media under any circumstances.

Journalists and media workers covering the Senate on Wednesday night, May 13, stood firm and delivered timely information to the public despite disorder, the presence of armed state forces, and multiple gunshots fired within the premises. 

These shambles were attributed to the attempt to arrest Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who is subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged criminal responsibility as an indirect co-perpetrator of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity of murder.

Read: Drug war victims’ kin demand Senate’s surrender of Bato to ICC 

Live video reports showed the courage of the Filipino press to keep documenting despite the loud gunshots, although some could not help but cry out of fright.

ABS-CBN News reporter Zyann Ambrosio’s live report, for example, showed how she documented the running state agents at the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) area near the Senate, with only a few steps distance from an operating personnel holding pistols.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) gave a salute to the members of the press. It said this incident affirmed that journalists and media workers continue to perform despite hostile conditions while ensuring their safety as top priority. 

The group called on newsrooms to provide psychological first aid to their staff on the field. “NUJP’s peer supporters are likewise ready to provide assistance to colleagues who may have experienced trauma.”

The University of the Philippines Diliman-College of Media and Communication (UPD-CMC), on the other hand, urged members of the press to unwaveringly uphold their role in the society to ensure that the people’s right to know cannot be obscured by any political maneuvering.

“In moments of crisis, clarity is resistance, and truth is the nation’s defense,” UPD-CMC’s statement reads.

For NUJP, the dangerous situation could have been prevented if Dela Rosa chose to surrender to the ICC and face the allegations against him. 

But the Senate chose to place him under protective custody—a decision called by advocates an action providing “refuge” to someone who is accused of being involved in a heinous crime that killed thousands of civilians. (RTS)

Disclosure: Bulatlat editor-in-chief Ronalyn Olea is the secretary general of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.