There are good cops but there some who think they can get away with murder. Here’s my personal account of an unpleasant encounter with a high-ranking police officer while covering Translacion 2020.While taking footage on my phone of a commotion between cops and a hapless Black Nazarene devotee on Ayala Bridge in Manila, a police general suddenly darted out of nowhere and snatched my mobile unit. He quickly moved away from the scene. I was accosted by another police officer, preventing me from going after the police official who took away my phone; didn’t get his name and could no longer remember his face. But one thing stood out: I saw a star on his shoulders. Minutes later, a group of photo journalists called my attention and pointed to a PNP official. “Sya yun,” they said. The culprit turned out to be one of the district commanders of the NCRPO—B/Gen. Nolasco Bathan. Asked him: “bakit mo kinuha ang phone ko, sir.” He was fuming mad, even threatening to confiscate my hand-held radio. Told him: “lalayo muna ako kasi masyado kang mainit, sir.” Minutes later, I came up to him to ask for my phone. “Pasensya ka na, Jun, hindi kita nakilala,” he said. Then, he handed back the cellphone. I checked the photo gallery and found that the video of the tense encounter between the cops and the devotee had been deleted. “Bakit nabura ang video ko, sir,” I asked Gen. Bathan. “Wala akong binura dyan, saksi ko pa ang Itim na Nazareno,” he replied. I turned my back and left. Good thing there’s a “recently deleted photo album” that enables the iphone users to recover erased photos and videos. Apparently, someone forgot to switch off the record button. At the tail end of the recording, a voice can be heard: a man giving an instruction to someone. “Burahin mo, burahin mo kuha ni Jun Veneracion. Pu#!#! ina nagku-kwan eh.”
Posted by Jun Veneracion on Thursday, January 9, 2020
Southern Police District (SPD) chief, Brigadier General Nolasco Bathan displayed a “thug-like” behavior when he grabbed the cellphone of a reporter during the coverage of this year’s Traslacion, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Press Corps.
In a statement on Friday, January 10, the press corps also described Bathan’s action “not only an attack on press freedom but also trample on the rights” of GMA reporter Jun Veneracion as a civilian and a Filipino citizen.
“We understand the stress and pressure brought by the long preparation and the situation on the ground during the incident, but General Bathan’s thug-like attitude in front of his men is plain and simple conduct unbecoming of a PNP member, of a police general,” the PNP Press Corps said.
The group added that journalists, whom it said have been the police force’s partner in disseminating information related to Traslacion, “do not deserve to be treated that way for doing their job.”
Recalling what happened during the coverage of the Black Nazarene procession, Veneracion posted a Facebook status on Thursday, along with a video, where he narrated how Bathan “snatched” his phone, while he was video recording a commotion between policemen and a devotee on Ayala bridge in Manila.
In his video, some cops were seen surrounding the devotee – one of them was trying to put a handcuff on him, while the other was holding him in a chokehold and dragged him to the ground.
The video, later on, turned black and a voice of an unidentified man can be heard instructing someone to ‘delete’ the footage taken by the reporter.
Veneracion said in his post that a police general suddenly came out of nowhere, snatched his phone, and immediately left the scene.
“I was accosted by another police officer, preventing me from going after the police official who took away my phone; didn’t get his name and could no longer remember his face. But one thing stood out: I saw a star on his shoulders,” the journalist said.
When Veneracion found out that it was Bathan who took his phone, he asked the latter why he did such thing.
He said Bathan was “fuming mad” and even threatened to confiscate his hand-held radio, that’s why he decided to stay away from the general for a while to let him cool off.
“Minutes later, I came up to him to ask for my phone. ‘Pasensya ka na, Jun, hindi kita nakilala (I’m sorry, Jun, I did not recognize you),’ he said. Then, he handed back the cellphone,” he added.
Veneracion checked his photo gallery to find the footage he took but it was already deleted. He asked Bathan why it was missing, but the cop denied that he deleted the video.
Bathan has apologized for his actions, saying that he mistook Veneracion as “someone who possessed threat.”
The PNP, meanwhile, said it will conduct a probe into the matter.