overnment officials have
finally suc-ceeded in getting a rise on their fishing expedition against a
reporter who they alleged helped Capt. Nicanor Faeldon escape from the Manila
Peninsula as an assault force, spearheaded by an armored carrier personnel,
broke into the hotel. This after weeks of keeping the industry guessing as to
the identity of the reporter and placing a question mark over the credibility of
all the journalists at the scene.
Dana Batnag, a correspondent of the Japanese news agency Jiji
Press, has come out on record to deny the allegation.
(Ellen Tordesillas, our chief of reporters, was among the
early suspects. We knew Ellen was clean, so we have had no sleepless nights over
her possibly being haled to court as government officials threatened. And if the
intention was to intimidate Ellen - or other staffers of this newspaper, for
that matter - they could not have picked on the least likely media man or woman
to succumb to the chilling effect of a accusation naming no one and, in the
process, indicting everyone.)
Batnag’s denial, however, has not removed the Damocles sword
hanging over the heads of the members of the industry.
While Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Batnag should come
clean, he did not categorically say it was she who was allegedly caught by an
in-house camera giving Faeldon a press ID which served as his safe conduct pass
through the police lines. PNP chief Avelino Razon also continued to play coy,
saying they would name the suspect only after a clearance has been secured from
Gonzalez.
It’s the hoary McCarthy trick. McCarthy stood on the floor of
the US House and waived a piece of paper which he claimed listed prominent
American citizens in government, in the academe, in the arts and in
entertainment field who were "card-carrying" communists.
McCarthy named no one, but the witch hunt that followed would
mark a shameful page in the history of American adherence to libertarian
principles.
That Gonzalez and Razon would resort to the same tactic
speaks volumes about the character of the administration they serve. The
previous tactic was to tag everybody who does not agree with the Arroyo
administration as a destabilizer or at least an accomplice. But at least, one
knows where one stands. In the case of the "mystery" reporter, everybody is a
suspect with no way of confronting his accuser.
Gonzalez and Razon should name their suspect and file
charges. Insinuations and innuendos against the institution of a free press
won’t do.
They should put up or shut up.
