Philippine news group Abante hit by arson attack as armed intruders set fire to printing plant

Four armed and hooded men have barged into the printing plant of a popular Philippine daily tabloid and set it on fire. Threatening security guards with guns, the attackers splashed gallons of petrol on the printing presses and paper stocks of Abante News Group before using lighters to ignite a fire and fleeing on motorcycles. Firefighters quickly put out the blaze, which was estimated to have caused 50,000 Philippine pesos (US$963) worth of damage, and Abante’s general manager Gil Cabacungan told the Post the damage would have been greater if firefighters had not arrived so soon. Initial reports said the Monday predawn arson attack left two staff members injured at the plant, which is located in Parañaque city in southern Metro Manila. “We really don’t know who’s behind it, we didn’t get any threats,” Cabacungan said. It is the first time a Manila-based publication has been so openly attacked. “I’ve never heard of anything like this,” said Vergel Santos, a journalist of half a century who has edited several newspapers and writes columns for publications around the world. Abante is the signature name for a group of Tagalog-language publications that include print tabloids Abante and Abante Tonite, as well as the Abante TNT news website. The tabloids feature a mix of political articles and racy entertainment stories. Recent headlines have attacked corruption in the government. Philippine press ‘under attack’ as authorities arrest Rappler co-founder Maria Ressa During a brief state of emergency declared by then president Gloria Arroyo in 2006, police tried to raid Abante’s offices but backed off when they noticed television media reporters waiting for them. Santos, who helped set up a national tabloid in the 1970s, told the Post: “Abante is in the tradition of bold tabloids, and of course, when it is using this vernacular it somehow assumes an even bolder tone.” According to Cabacungan, a former business reporter for another national daily, “our agenda has been to be hard-hitting and pro-consumer in our headlines so you’d notice our business stories. We try to be critical but fair, the tabloid way”. Sergeant Napoleon Mallari of Parañaque City Police said officers were looking at several explanations for the attack, including disgruntled employees, business competition and content the paper might have published. “If they wanted to destroy the whole plant they could have just blown it up. We think they were trying to instil fear,” he said. Santos added: “Whether or not it’s a disgruntled employee, I can see who’s inspiring this; it may not exactly be a plot mounted by the government, but it’s certainly inspired by it.” ‘You’ve gone too far’: Duterte rants against media as website that covered drug war faces closure President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed hostility towards the Philippine press, one of the freest in Asia. In 2016 he said: “Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempt from assassination if you’re a son of a bitch ... Freedom of expression cannot help you if you have done something wrong.” Duterte’s administration has filed numerous libel suits against journalist Maria Ressa, CEO of online publication Rappler, and the president has threatened not to renew the franchise of broadcasting giant ABS-CBN. Last week Duterte’s spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said he would file libel suits against Rappler and the Philippine Daily Inquirer for saying he was involved in a growing scandal that saw the early release of prisoners charged with heinous crimes. Since 1987 the Philippines has recorded one of the highest numbers of murders of journalists. In November 2009, some 32 journalists were among 58 people massacred in the southern province of Maguindanao. Santos called the arson attack against Abante “definitely alarming”. “This is the first time it has ever happened. I thought going after Rappler, ABS-CBN and the Inquirer was alarming enough, but this is outright violence.” Abante editor-in-chief Fernando Jadulco described it as a “dastardly attack – the first violent act against our group and its facilities since 1987”. “We will not be cowed by this attempt to strike fear into our reporters, editors and staff,” Jadulco said. “Our commitment to hard-hitting journalism remains unshaken.”