We have been noticing suspicious persons near our office in Zamboanga City. Suspicious in a way, that these men - some on motorcycles, others in vans - are watching our movement. We sense danger. Others who noticed these men say they speak in Tausug, a dialect widely used in the province of Sulu. Our staffs are being followed by these men and we have reasons to believe that our safety is under threat.
Last December 28, somebody fired a shot at our editorial office. The bullet pierced the Mindanao Examiner signboard, left a hole on our shutter door and the thick glass stopped the slug. Daytime security guards say the shot was probably fired after midnight or else the one on duty should have at least seen the attacker. The security agency reported the matter to the building owner and to the police the next day, December 29.
Welcoming the Year of the Ox in 2009 is really not something to be happy about, especially when persons with ill motives are tailing us. The year 2008 was also not good for us. Our editor Al Jacinto was tagged persona non grata by the City Council of Zamboanga over news articles about the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity that politicians did not like.
In Zamboanga, journalists have become an easy target for hired killers. With five journalists murdered in Zamboanga over the years, the threat to press freedom continues.
We don't know why our staffs are being targeted, but we believe that all these have something to do with the series of news stories we have been writing about politicians in Sulu. We have been receiving text messages from unknown people criticizing good politicians that we write about.
Who would dare to do all these things and dispatched armed men to intimidate us or perhaps hunt us down? We counted at least a dozen different Tausug-speaking men, in jackets, sunglasses, helmets, caps and guns tucked on their waist - in different motorbikes, in vans and they seemed so desperate to find us.
It's too bad that they cannot accept what we write or report about and that's the truth – the hatred in their hearts has already poisoned their mind.
We have prepared a short list of names of people, who, we believed should be held accountable in case anything happen to us. We have spoken to several people in authorities and told them the grim scenario. This is part of being in the media and the hazards of the job are just one thing journalists should always be prepared about.
Press freedom is all about democracy. It is all about the freedom to write the truth, to tell the truth and to speak the truth. We just hope that all these shall come to pass and the light of truth continues to shine. (The Mindanao Examiner)
