Rappler bumped off from Panatag patrol coverage

MANILA, Philippines — The defense reporter of online news site Rappler was bumped off from the coverage of the military’s air maritime and territorial patrol over Panatag Shoal yesterday amid controversies hounding the media agency.

The patrolling of the area was open for coverage and the drawing of slots held among members of the Defense Press Corps (DPC) at Camp Aguinaldo on Monday afternoon.

The limited slots went to ABS-CBN’s defense reporters Jorge Cariño and his crewmembers as well as Carmela Fonbuena of Rappler.  

However, at the very last minute, Fonbuena was no longer allowed to go supposedly in favor of more soldiers who would be joining the air patrol.

Fonbuena said North Luzon Command (Nolcom) spokesperson Lt. Col. Isagani Nato told her “they have to slash the slots for media because a number of soldiers are also boarding.”

“This after they got our names and briefed us of our jump-off (point),” Fonbuena said.

Fonbuena said she tried to appeal for Nolcom to honor the DPC’s drawing of slots as the plane that would be used in the air patrol was a C-295 aircraft where she could easily be accommodated.

The incident created quite a stir among journalists covering the defense and military beat.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission cancelled Rappler’s certificate of incorporation for supposedly violating foreign media ownership rules, effectively closing down the media entity.

NBI probe ‘too much coincidence’

As this developed, Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa said the filing of a cybercrime complaint over a 2012 article they published was too much of a coincidence and revealed an alarming pattern.

Speaking to reporters following a forum on fake news at the Far Eastern University (FEU) yesterday, Ressa urged authorities to look at the facts of the case and realize that intimidation would not work.

“While the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) claims that this is coincidence, it’s just too much coincidence as far as I am concerned. That coincidence is a pattern, and that pattern is alarming,” she said.

“I find the timing suspicious. The case itself is suspicious. It was a 2012 story, magically now, a subpoena was given a day before the SEC decision,” she added.

Last week, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II directed the NBI to conduct an investigation of possible criminal liabilities of Rappler officials in relation to the SEC ruling.

The NBI said the cybercrime case, filed by Century Peak president Wilfredo Keng last year, is unrelated to the new investigation.

But for Ressa, the timing is questionable. “Too many coincidences, they form a pattern and the pattern is very clear to me,” she said.

“The SEC case is ongoing, the decision is too harsh, we weren’t given due process. I am calling it now. We expect due process, we expect our rights to be protected and we expect to be treated as journalists with the rights given to us by the Constitution,” she added.

Aside from Ressa, also charged for supposed violation of the anti-cybercrime law are former Rappler reporter Reynaldo Santos Jr. and businessman Benjamin Bitanga.