The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday condemned the “unnecessary force” used by the Philippine National Police in dealing with devotees and members of the media during the procession of the Black Nazarene or ‘traslacion’ on Thursday.
CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said “the use of excessive force was unnecessary,” while the PNP’s treatment of GMA reporter Jun Veneracion “can be considered suppression of the freedom of the press.”
Veneracion had used his mobile phone to film an altercation between police officers and a devotee of the Black Nazarene, which resulted in the devotee falling to the ground.
As he was recording the incident, Brig. Gen. Nolasco Bathan, the chief of the Southern Police District (SPD), snatched his phone from him. In a deleted video that Veneracion was able to retrieve, Bathan appeared to instruct another person to delete the video Veneracion took.
“The media has a responsibility to inform the public,” De Guia said. The PNP is now investigating the incidents. —Patricia Denise M. Chiu