SUDDENLY THEY ALL BECOME WARM

JOLO, SULU is a place where you easily get sunburn as the weather is really hot and humid.

Local and Zamboanga City based journalists including hired photographers and cameramen of local politicians as well as by the foreign and Filipino military here swarmed the place trying their best to get the best shot as US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and British Ambassador Peter Beckingham move around inspecting projects.

My height is no match to those photographers and cameramen so I decided to move back away from makeshift tent to have a better view.

As I was retreating, I heard a familiar voice calling my name.

I look back and there’s Major General Reuben Rafael, chief of Task Force Comet. He was smiling and making signal to approach him which I did.

He whispered a joke saying, “I heard you were banned by CSAFP, is that true?”

So I informed him straight face that I never heard General Esperon issuing such order but several officials confirmed that Brig. General Juancho Sabban issued directive to his junior officers in Basilan.

They know because they were among those who were given the instructions.

I said those words in front of Western Mindanao Command chief Major General Nelson Allaga and I even turned the tables then saying why not asked the chief here.

Allaga in turned smiles but turned a bit apologetic explaining why he was not able to answer my call last week.

“I saw your calls several times but I cannot answer because I was in Zamboanga del Sur during the visit of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,” Allaga explained.

I do understand Allaga because I knew Arroyo’s visit was September 16 and 17, besides Sabban’s reported banning me from coverage in Basilan was issued on September 18, 2007.

Even Brig. General Ruperto Pabustan, chief of Special Forces in Sulu who was reportedly mad at me because of the story I did about 8 minors subjected to psychological torture greeted me with a warm smile.

While we were talking, suddenly Esperon appeared behind so I immediately made myself scarce and continued my work.

During the Sulu Provincial Capitol activity, I intentionally cornered Esperon and interviewed him if indeed he issued such order as claimed by Sabban.

As far as I can remember, Sabban verbalized such claim to Major General Ben Dolorfino, the Philippine Marine Corps commandant in the morning of September 18, 2007 while they were having a closed door meeting at Tabiawan, Isabela City Basilan.

Dolorfino told me that it was Sabban who expressed that claim, “but I didn’t believe him (that Esperon could issue such order).”

So back to Esperon this is what he actually told me while I was doing my chance interview. We were all rushing for time so he granted an interview while we were proceeding inside Sulu National High School.

Esperon was smiling as usual and at first he told reporters that “Thank you, thank you.”

But I was a bit persistent so I asked him this question. “Sir, is it true I am banned?”

“Laugh… you cannot limit press freedom, then laugh, without losing it. It’s very basic in our democracy. I don’t know what report you have on that? Are you banned? No.”

Knowing Esperon for about 10 years and doing coverage while he was once a ground commander, he only got irked when I pursued the issue about how intelligent is the intelligence community of the AFP.

Esperon if he dislikes my stories, he never got to a point of banning me from coverage even during his term as 103^rd Army Brigade commander in Basilan in 2002.

FRUIT OF IMAGINATION

I read the CMFR report. I wanted to laugh when I read the portion of Sabban’s side where he claimed I need attention and dreaming up things.

First I don’t sleepwalk. I am not into day dreaming or suffering from lack of attention and I don’t think his junior officers under his so-called Thunder turf were also dreaming when they heard Sabban’s directive on September 18, 2007. I don’t think General Dolorfino was dreaming when Sabban informed him about the “banning order.”

I was not also dreaming when journalists and officers proceeded to the mess hall on September 18, 2007 when everyone was partaking Sabban’s prepared lunch and I was sitting in one of the couches facing him eating my own “baon” a bottled juice and chips.

If I was dreaming as Sabban claimed “pinakain pa namin siya” in one of interviews by Joel Guinto, probably my fellow journalists could have woken me up.

Roel Pareno of Philippine Star and Leila Vicente of ABS-CBN Zamboanga City were there to attest and witnessed that I didn’t take anything even a single drop of water from the mess hall of Thunder.

Pareno, Vicente and Major Minandang Macatoon (one of Sabban’s men) even repeatedly invited me to join them partaking the lunch which I politely turned down explaining them that I am still full and I am on a diet.

When Sabban claimed to Guinto that he fed me, that’s what you call dreaming things or “simpleng bagay na nga lang magsisinungaling pa.”

No harassment? For me its still harassment when his intelligence guys approached me and even inquired my relationship to the four year old boy.

I am not imagining or dreaming up things when we were at the third floor of the Golden Bell Commercial Center located along the Major Jaldon and Camins street in the afternoon of September 6, 2007.

I and my son were not imagining things when strangers approached me, played around and carried my son and later informed me that I was wanted by their commander (Sabban) and inquiring me who were my sources.

Lack attention? Why would I need attention? I am not a toddler like my 4 year old son that needs real attention and care.

I don’t need attention to publish my accomplishments so I will get promotion. I am very much contented with my life as journalist. They label me with names and as I said earlier, I don’t care with labels, call me leftist then fine, at least they can never label me “envelopmentalist” and I don’t contact influential people to settle problems.

In fact I live an ordinary life and I am satisfied with what I have, my son and my own home.