DAVAO CITY—The National Union of Journalists has called out a Facebook group for its malicious post aimed at a Zamboanga-based journalist for inciting threats and harassments and accusing her as a terrorist supporter.
NUJP hit out Phil Leaks, a dubious Facebook group, that targeted Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter Julieta S. Alipala, and accused her of being “a paid propagandist of the bandit group Abu Sayyaf.”
The malicious post against Alipala stemmed when she reported on the alleged massacre of seven Tausug men perpetrated by the military last September 13.
Alipala had filed a police blotter about the incident. Alipala’s case is the latest among female journalists in the country who received attacks from netizens in the social media.
“Alipala merely reported on claims made by the victims’ families that they were civilians simply out to harvest fruit crops when arrested and later killed by the military,” NUJP said.
The journalists’ union noted that other media outfits had carried the same story.
“If this dubious group knew any better, it could never accuse Alipala of being a supporter of Abu Sayyaf, much less being its paid propagandist,” it said. “Our colleague’s life is endangered by the irresponsible claim and criminal act of the creators and administrators of this social media group.”
NUJP has urged the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to investigate this attack and prosecute the perpetrators.
It also asked the social media giant Facebook to take down immediately the page Phil Leaks for endangering Alipala and other known critics of the government.
