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The University of the Philippines School of Mass Communication (UP CMC) denounced the arrest of its student, Manila Today editor Lady Ann Salem, and called for her immediate release. (Photo: Denver del Rosario)
MANILA, Philippines – “His defense is his identity, even if it is now apparently the reason for his arrest and detention.”
In a sharp statement, the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) denounced the arrest of its former student, Manila Today editor Lady Ann Salem, and called for her immediate release.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) reported that the journalist was arrested at her home in Mandaluyong city by police officers early Thursday morning, just as the world was commemorating International Human Rights Day.
[URGENT ALERT] Journalist Arrested by Police Manila Today journalist and editor Lady Ann Salem was among those arrested …Posted by National Union of Journalists of the Philippines on Wednesday December 9, 2020
UP CMC noted that Salem’s arrest came nine days after AlterMidya, a national network of alternative media organizations, was tagged red in a Senate hearing by the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict ( NTF-ELCAC).
“The circumstances behind his arrest reflect the cases of activists such as Reina Mae Nasino and Amanda Lacaba Echanis. Like them, Icy (Salem) has been tagged red in the past, ”said UP CMC.
Salem, a member of NUJP, also works for the alternative media organization Tudla Productions and serves as a communications officer for the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT).
The university also attested to Salem’s integrity as a journalist, having graduated from the university’s Broadcast Communication program in 2006.
UP CMC also criticized the red label of its students and graduates, recalling how they “admonished” NTF-ELCAC and Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade, Jr. for baselessly accusing one of their student organizations, the Union of Journalists of the Philippines – UP (UJP-UP), as a communist front.
It should be remembered that Parlade struck red last May on various media and student organizations, including the UJP-UP, for denouncing the closure of the ABS-CBN media network and exploiting the issue to defend “communist” ideals.
“We take the red bait from our students [and alumni] seriously. An attack on our students [and alumni] it is an attack on our school, ”the school said, echoing its statement of May 13.
UP CMC emphasized that Salem cannot be guilty of documenting the plight of the underserved in its stories, adding that the university instills in its students the value of advocacy.
“That we produce graduates like Icy who choose to keep the torch of press freedom burning shows the quality of education we provide to our students,” the statement said.
“We teach them the value of not only seeking the power of truth, but also of speaking the truth to power,” he added.
UP CMC further called on its students, faculty, staff, and alumni to “amplify our collective voices not only to protect one of our own, but also to promote and defend the rights of the oppressed, repressed, and deprived in these dark times.”
/ MUF
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