The Hazards of Journalism
Mighty)
If there is any lesson from the recent kidnapping of ABS-CBN reporter Ces Drilon in the province of Sulu, it is that Journalism is a dangerous profession. Perhaps there is good reason why I have not chosen this line of career.
By going to the hotspot of military and even social and cultural conflict in Mindanao, Ces Drilon, her cameraman and the MSU professor with them showed that they mean business. They are serious with their jobs, literally risking their necks and limbs by simply going there to gather important scoop for news material. Based on radio reports last week when their abduction was freshly aired, the military claimed that they offered to escort Drilon and her contingent. Too bad they refused.
The kidnappers held Ces Drilon and her two companions for ten days before agreeing to free them. In the past few days, there had been some mixed ups concerning the negotiation. Indanan, Sulu mayor Alvarez Isnaji said that negotiations were going on while the governor of Sulu said that he ordered all negotiations to cease! To add more confusion, Senator Loren Legarda entered the picture the other night (17 June 2008), claiming she had been negotiating with the hostage-takers for the past five days at the request of Drilon’s family.
The hostage-takers demanded 15 million pesos in exchange for the freedom of their hostages. According to Senator Legarda, the hostages were released for humanitarian reasons and they dropped their request for ransom. The kidnappers, apparently, do not belong to any identified terrorist groups. They are fairly new in the scene. I wonder what ideology, belief, or rhetoric they are fighting for. But I guess, it’s all about the money! It would have been good if investigative reporters turned up something interesting but I doubt! I very well doubt!
I don’t know about you but I feel that something’s wrong here. It feels as if the media and the government are not disclosing something. I wonder if there are spin doctors at work here and if cover-ups are under way. By the way, the Inquirer (18 June 2008) reported that a SeaAir plane landed in Jolo, Solo on June 17, 2008 at 4pm carrying a lawyer with two duffel bags. Those bags could have been for the money. If this were the ransom, only heaven knows.
What a scramble this hostage taking episode had been. The important thing is Ces Drilon and her two companions are free. Remember the Burnham couples a few years back? If the military resorted to a rescue operation, the hostages might have gotten hurt.
Maybe, news networks should start thinking about the safety of their journalists. It’s no joke to be at the forefront of news events. I hope no such kidnapping occurs again. But in a place like the Philippines, particularly in Sulu, there might just be another event like that. But Dang! we should learn how to deal with such events!
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