MEDIA SAFETY. Dumaguete City police officer in charge, Lt. Col. Ronoel Fungo, poses with members of the local media on Saturday (Jan. 21, 2023) after a safety and security seminar. The police chief said he will review the case files of the murders of three broadcast journalists in previous years that still remain unsolved. (Photo by Judy Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Around a dozen practitioners from print, broadcast, and social media attended a personal safety and security seminar conducted by city police here on Saturday.
The seminar aims to empower media practitioners on practical tips and other measures to ensure their safety while on field coverage as well as for personal protection for them and their families, according to Lt. Col. Ronoel Fungo, officer-in-charge of the city police.
“This is part of our actions and activities to provide security to our media personalities so that they can be prepared against certain hostilities,” Fungo said in mixed English and Cebuano.
While crimes cannot totally be prevented, he said media practitioners can easily identify possible attackers or avoid being in harm’s way if they are trained in basic skills.
The seminar included guides and tips on self-defense, observation and awareness of people and surroundings, documentation of potential threats, the establishment of communication networks, gun safety, and collaboration with the police, among others.
Fungo said he will also study the proposed setting up of a police blotter and a point person dedicated to media practitioners whose lives are under threat.
While the government has set up the Presidential Task Force on Media Safety, Fungo pointed out that the local police are still the front-liners in the investigation of cases involving media practitioners.
He also reassured the media that he will review the case files of the three broadcast journalists who were shot dead in separate occasions in 2019, 2020 and 2021 during the stints of previous police chiefs.
Fungo assumed his current position early this month. (PNA)
