The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) recently got hold of a copy of a PowerPoint presentation of a military briefing titled "Knowing The Enemy." That presentation listed down many legal organizations that allegedly help the forces that seek to overthrow the government.

The NUJP actually got word of the briefing campaign – conducted by intelligence officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines – last December, from people who had sat through those briefings. It would be laughable, if not for the fact that several of the suspected killers of journalists come from state security forces.

We demand answers from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who claims to be a friend of press freedom, and AFP Chief of Staff General Abu. Does "Knowing The Enemy" represent official government policy? If so, why is the NUJP tagged as an "enemy" when it has been working closely with law enforcement agencies to solve the murders of journalists in the country?

If it is not official policy, then we demand that the President and the AFP Chief of Staff give a categorical statement, investigate the authors of the briefing kit, order a stop to the smear campaign, and educate them on the basic concepts of democracy.