Philippine media groups condemned the arrest of a female journalist in Manila on December 10, International Human Rights Day.
The police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group arrested Lady Ann Salem, editor of Manila Today, from her home on Thursday morning.
At a recent Senate hearing on “red-tagging,” the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict linked “Manila Today,” the news site where Salem is editor, to the communist movement.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemned the arrest and called for Salem’s immediate release.
“We are further outraged that authorities chose to seize [Salem] on International Human Rights Day,” read the union’s statement.
“[Salem’s] arrest is proof that this administration is bent on silencing the independent and critical Philippine media so it can manipulate the flow of information to the detriment of our people and of our democracy,” added the statement.
Police claimed that they recovered four .45-caliber pistols, four grenades, four .45-caliber magazines, and 29 .45-caliber bullets from the residence of Salem, who is also communications officer of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television.
Lawyer Edre Olalia of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers said activists are usually charged with “illegal possession of firearms and explosives” because these are “easy to plant.”
The lawyer said possession of explosives is normally a non-bailable offense, leaving those arrested to “rot in jail” while waiting for the case to prosper.
Altermidya, a network of independent publications in the Philippines, said Salem’s arrest “is another proof of the dangers of the administration’s vile practice of red-tagging.”
Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the committee on public affairs of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, called on the government to stop using the anti-terror law as a justification for the arrests of activists.
“The government should not hide behind the anti-terror law in making arrests without any factual basis,” said the priest.
“I hope that the arrested individuals will be given a day in court,” he said.
Aside from Salem, at least six other activists were also arrested on the same day for “illegal possession of firearms and explosives.”
Also arrested were labor organizers Dennise Velasco, Joel Demate, Rodrigo Esparago, Mark Ryan Cruz, Romina Raiselle Astudillo, and Jaymie Gregorio.
Authorities said those arrested will be charged with violation of the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Law and the Illegal Possession of Explosives Law.
