ZAMBOANGA CITY(MindaNews/ 14 September)–A reporter here has filed a blotter before the Zamboanga City Police after two motorcycle-riding men went to their house and asked her son her whereabouts, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) reported on Friday.
Julie Alipala, Mindanao correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, went to the Divisoria Police to report the incident, which happened at around 5:00 p.m. yesterday (Sept. 13). Police Officer 2 Vince Perez took the statements she and her son filed.
Alipala narrated the incident at her Facebook page. In the post, she wrote the men, who wore full-faced helmets, stopped at the house gate. When the back rider alighted and asked where Alipala is, her son said she was inside the house.
Wrote Alipala, “The back rider removed his helmet and requested my son to call me. I was about to get out of the house but I noticed their motorbike has no plate number.”
“At the doorstep (which she approximated to be four meters to the gate), I asked [one of the two men, in a clean white shirt] what do they want. [I] also noticed motorbike’s engine is ready to run. I asked again about their intention in a loud tone. The guy said they just want to know if I am selling the wrangler [jeep parked outside the house]. I said no and [when I was] about to ask why, they left hastily,” she continued.
The NUJP has asked Alipala what security measures she may need.
At around 11:00 p.m. Thursday, Alipala again posted a message on her Facebook page, assuring concerned friends and colleagues that she is safe.
In the same post, she said the incident could be linked with her reports on the arrest of alleged perpetrators of two kidnapping incidents–those of an Indian national in Sulu, and a Chinese national in Zamboanga.
The arrests, she said, were questioned following speculations of mistaken identity, and “sparked so many questions against an official.” She, however, did not reveal the name and position of the said official. (NUJP Mindanao Safety Office/MindaNews)
