Cotabato City – The newly established PRO-BAR Press Corps has raised alarm over what it described as invasive and intimidating “background investigations” being conducted on journalists by intelligence police units in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
In a media statement, the corps condemned the actions as a direct assault on press freedom and the privacy of media practitioners. The group said the investigations involve police officers visiting journalists’ homes, questioning their neighbors, and demanding personal details through data forms and barangay clearances.
PRO-BAR Press Corps President Ferdinandh B. Cabrera recounted his own experience, saying intelligence officers came to his residence on three separate occasions. “I immediately warned them that this was an invasion of privacy and appealed for them to stop. This is not how PRO-BAR should be treating journalists,” Cabrera stressed.
Other members reported similar encounters. Bandera reporter Aika Kamid and DZRH veteran broadcaster Jun Dimacutac said their neighbors had been approached by police for residency verification. Dimacutac, who has been in the industry for 35 years, said such actions were baseless. “If I were lawless, the legal department of MBC itself would have disciplined me. We all went through the proper process as applicants for our networks,” he noted.
Bandera’s Shahannie “Yannie” Abdulrasid also relayed the experience of her colleague, Raizza Mae Kamid, whose home was visited by four police officers asking for confirmation of her address. Meanwhile, DXMS Radyo Bida Programming Director Mark Anthony Tayco reported receiving a call on September 15 from an officer claiming to be from the Cotabato City Police Office (CCPO), who said they would obtain a barangay certification to verify his residency.
“These actions are an act of intimidation and create a chilling effect that undermines our ability to report freely and without fear,” the press corps said. “The very presence of intelligence police at the homes of our members sends a clear message of suspicion, distrust and threat.”
The group emphasized that journalists, like all citizens, have already gone through proper vetting processes, including police and NBI clearances, upon employment. They warned that the unwarranted checks suggest motives beyond legitimate inquiry.
Cabrera and the corps demanded an immediate halt to the investigations and urged the PRO-BAR leadership to respect press freedom and the rights of journalists.
“The PRO-BAR Press Corps stands united in its commitment to a free and unhampered press. We will not be silenced by actions that undermine the very principles of democracy we are sworn to uphold,” the statement concluded.