“While the security of personal information is important, the [Data Privacy Act] is also commonly used to deny media workers access to information essential to their work and for ‘lawfare’ suits to deter or punish coverage.”

CAGAYAN DE ORO — A journalists’ group questioned the arrest of DZRH reporter Misael Gonzales Jr. over his report on a criminal case faced by a local legislator, seeing it as “retaliatory and an abuse of the law.”

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) pointed out that the criminal case filed against retired police officer and now Manila Councilor Rosalino Ibay Jr. is a matter of public interest since he is a public servant.

“Reporting on it is Gonzales’s duty and not a crime,” the NUJP stressed, demanding the dropping of charges against the radio reporter.

Gonzales was arrested on Wednesday, March 11, outside the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila. He was released the next day after posting bail.

According to a DZRH report, Ibay filed a complaint against the reporter for allegedly violating Section 25 of the Data Privacy Act after publishing a copy of Ibay’s arrest warrant for allegedly violating Section 5(b) of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.

The NUJP said this is not the first time that the data privacy law was used to retaliate and intimidate journalists.

In August 2023, local reporter Jose Rizal Pajares of Radyo Natin Iriga City in Camarines Sur was arrested for allegedly violating Section 29 of the said law after he tried to access police blotters to perform his job. The case was filed by the chief of Iriga City police at that time.

Bulatlat election contributor Kaizzer Manuba, on the other hand, was also threatened by a police officer and his wife with a data privacy case if she would not take down a Facebook post published by Bulatlat showing a photo of two police personnel seated behind a table during the May 2025 elections.

Section 4 of the Data Privacy Act clearly states that it does not apply to information of any individual who is an officer or employee of a government institution, including personal information processed for journalistic purposes.

“While the security of personal information is important, the [Data Privacy Act] is also commonly used to deny media workers access to information essential to their work and for ‘lawfare’ suits to deter or punish coverage,” the NUJP noted.

Ibay also filed a complaint for libel and cyberlibel against the reporter, but it was dismissed by the prosecutor due to lack of probable cause, the DZRH report said.

The National Press Club (NPC) expressed concern on the potential chilling effect of this case on the media practitioners’ ability to report on issues involving public officials and corruption allegations.

“Journalists must be able to perform their duty of informing the public without fear of intimidation or undue legal harassment, particularly when reporting on issues of legitimate public interest,” the NPC said in a statement. (RTS, RVO)

Disclosure: Bulatlat’s editor-in-chief Ronalyn Olea is the current NUJP secretary general

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