The new directive

Not a few journalists in Dumaguete expressed alarm last week over what they perceived as an attempt by the new police chief to withhold information from reporters. This was the policy of new police chief Supt. Dionardo "Caloy" Carlos.

As it was told to me by the reporters themselves, the new police chief, who assumed office two Mondays ago, directed the policemen not to allow reporters to read the police blotter. Instead, the police would just prepare a summary of the blotter's contents, and this would become the source of information for the police beat reporters.

At that time, newspapers from Manila were reporting about the petition filed by Manila journalists before the Court of Appeals to free the press from restrictions imposed by Malacanang and the police. Fresh on everyone's minds was the takeover by the police of the Daily Tribune because of the controversial Proclamation 1017 and the much-critized "PNP School of Journalism."

I found myself being asked questions like, "What do we do? Write a pooled editorial?" "

Do we come out with a statement condemning the new policy?" I couldn't help but ask myself whether this was part of a bigger plot to manage the information that is released to the press. But prudence got the better of me, as I decided it was probably a better idea to see the "new kid in town" before we did anything.

Somehow, I thought, the last thing the police chief -- a new one at that -- would need is to get on the wrong side of the media. There had to be a reason for such a move. After all, these are not sensitive documents we are dealing with here. These are raw, unedited journals of the day's happenings filled by policemen in, often, illegible penmanship. And I don't even want to comment on the kind of English it's written in.

It was past 5 pm when I called on Supt. Carlos. He was ready to call it a day, and had even removed his uniform already. In his white tee, he looked like a college boy just out of school. I went into his office and introduced myself and we talked about his job and the controversial directive. He went on to explain that what he actually wanted to do was to get a chance to read the blotter before the reporters come in and broadcast the news. He told the policemen concerned to bring the police blotter to his office-cum-quarters so he could read about the events that transpired while he was sleeping. "That way, if I get interviewed or I get a call from the Mayor, I will know what to say."

And he explained that after reviewing the night's events, he prepares a summary of what he thinks will interest the reporters. This summary, written in simplified English, is something of a "press release" from the police. "But the reporters are free to look at the blotter," he assured.

I must say that Caloy won me over. I figured that his explanation would be appreciated by the reporters. Sure enough, they did. Caloy Carlos won the Dumaguete media over, too. As I explained to some reporters, we journalists are so jealous of our profession that we often don't want to be told what to do. I guess it's the same with the police officers. In the performance of their regular duties, they do what they think is best and they, too, want to see whether their efforts will bear fruit before they change anything.*

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