The Philippine National Police (PNP), however said there had been reported threats, harassment, stabbing, and shooting incidents involving members of the media, but the motives were not in relation to their duties during the election period.
These cases were recorded from February 14, 2022 to May 16, 2022.
Records showed that these cases were recorded in Regions 5, 8, 10, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The PNP, however, vowed to still proceed with a deeper probe regarding these reported incidents despite falling short from the criteria of an election-related incident.
According to Lieutenant General Vicente Danao Jr., PNP officer-in-charge the creation of Media Vanguards within their organization has created a huge impact in safeguarding our media practitioners who took the role of being an information frontliner this election season.
He said since the launching of the Media Vanguards, all police stations and units nationwide have activated their desks to accept media-related complaints, verify, and assist in handling these cases.
“The offshoot of this initiative can be observed with the strong relationship between the media industry and law enforcers such as the PNP,” Danao said.
Danao further said that given the higher confidence to report on the elections, media practitioners were moved to deliver stories that are accurate, transparent and relevant to the general public.
“It became a tool for the PNP to reach a wider audience with the premise that these vital information can help in increasing the public's awareness of the developments in this election,” Danao said.
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