MANILA – The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) on Thursday said it is assisting the provincial chairperson of the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) in Aklan province who was harassed and threatened by a municipal employee of Kalibo town in the latter’s radio program.
In a statement, PTFoMS said it assisted Apolonio “Apple” Zaraspe, station manager of Energy FM Aklan and KBP provincial chair, in pursuing charges against Charie “Che” Indelible, a meat inspector of Kalibo, for grave threat and cyber libel.
The complaint is now under evaluation at the Office of the City Prosecutor in Manila, the Palace media task force said.
PTFoMS said Zaraspe sought the help of the task force against the “false and baseless allegations” of Indelible against him, which also include “threats to his life” that were broadcast on Indelible’s local program on Todo Radyo and shared through his Facebook page.
Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez, PTFoMS Executive Director, said the task force reached out to Indelible to seek his side.
"However, no substantial explanation or comment was provided by Mr. Indelible. Consequently, the PTFoMS assisted Mr. Zaraspe in filing a formal case,” Gutierrez said.
A threat assessment conducted by the Aklan Provincial Police Office on June 25, 2024 at the request of the task force confirmed that Zaraspe’s life is in immediate danger due to the nature of his business interests and that his family members are also at risk, according to the PTFoMS.
Kalibo Mayor Juris Sucro claimed it had “warned” Indelible for his harassment of Zaraspe but stressed Indelible’s radio program “were outside the scope of his official duties and do not affect his official role (as meat inspector) within the municipality.”
Meanwhile, the KBP, through its president, Noel Galvez, discovered that Indelible had been broadcasting illegally as Radyo Todo’s franchise had expired.
The task force vowed to continue monitoring the developments of the case even as it reminded media workers that their profession does not grant them the “unbridled discretion to launch personal tirades and defame others.”
“Being a media practitioner comes with great responsibility, and it is never a shield against the law,” Gutierrez said. (PNA)
