50 Filipino Journalists Held, Freed

Around 50 Filipino journalists covering the situation of evacuation centres in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao were briefly held by the military for "lack of clearance", reported the country's major daily 'The Philippine Daily Inquirer' on June 30, 2009.

Media watch body National Union of Journalists of the Philippines vice chairman Jaime Espina, in an interview with the 'Inquirer', said he and his colleagues on board eight vehicles were briefly held at a security checkpoint at around 7 a.m.

"The journalists, coming from both the Philippine capital Metro Manila and different areas in Mindanao, were about to cover the situation in evacuation centres in Datu Piang town when they were barred by the military for lack of clearance," the paper reported.

The journalists were released an hour after with no apparent reason. The military has been regulating access into several towns in the area due to armed conflict between government forces and Muslim rebels.

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