Jose Rizal Pajares, a reporter for private radio station Radyo Natin, was arrested on August 2 on the island of Camarines Sur in Visayas after he allegedly accessed the Iriga City Police Station’s blotter, a register of crime incidents or other significant events in the city. The broadcaster said Pajares had already requested access from an on-duty police officer.
According to police accounts of the incident, Pajares allegedly scanned the records while the station’s Chief of Police, Lieutenant Ralph Jason Oida, left the journalist alone to attain permission. The journalist was then arrested without a warrant, with police claiming to have witnessed him scanning the documents without proper authorisation.
Pajares was held in detention and subjected to an informal investigation before being temporarily released on August 4, with Radio Natyn paying his bail of PHP 10,000 (USD 180). The arrest has been condemned by journalist representative groups, including the NUJP’s Ablay Chapter, with the Association of Philippines Broadcasters (KBP) has since launched a counter-affidavit in response to the police case.
Police claim the blotter contained information relating to ongoing cases, and that Pajares had violated the Data Privacy Act (DPA), which restricts the access of public police records containing the details of suspects in ongoing cases. The NUJP countered this claim saying the DPA does not apply when processing private information for journalistic purposes.
Oida was relieved of his duties on August 14, following an internal investigation by the Philippines National Police. Pajares, who has worked with Radyo Natin for over a decade, said he has accessed the Iriga City Police Station’s records for years. Station production manager, Raul Sodsod, stated that the journalist was unaware of any change in station policy that led to his arrest.
The NUJP said: “While we understand the need for confidentiality in ongoing investigations and to ensure data privacy, police blotters are generally public documents that journalists have access to. Our understanding is that, under the Data Privacy Act, accountability for keeping data safe is on the police and that access to journalistic work is an exemption under the law. The arrest is very irregular since media has, in general practice, had access to police blotter reports and similar documents.”
The IFJ said: “This is a clear overreach of police powers. The IFJ calls on Filipino authorities to drop all charges against the journalist and uphold the right to freedom of information.”