Persistence and preparation from the Manila bureau put AP in front with coverage of a standoff in the Philippine Senate when authorities tried to arrest a lawmaker on an International Criminal Court warrant.
Philippine senator and former head of the National Police force Ronald dela Rosa had not appeared in the Senate for months after reports surfaced that he would be arrested as part of a new investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings during anti-drug crackdowns ordered by ex-President Rodrigo Duterte.
When Sen. dela Rosa suddenly appeared in the Senate this month, the ICC also unsealed an arrest warrant for him. A tense standoff ensued in the Senate building as authorities tried to arrest dela Rosa while he was in “protective custody” by allied senators. Thanks to Manila chief correspondent Jim Gomez’s tenacious source work, he was tipped off about the arrest and had prepared alerts in advance in case the senator was detained. Photographer Aaron Favila and video journalist Joeal Calupitan were inside the Senate from early morning, standing by for any developments.
Instead of an arrest, gunshots were heard in the Senate at around 7:43 p.m. local time, sparking chaos. Within 10 minutes, AP had an unmatched live report from the Senate. Thanks to the preparations that were made in advance, within 30 minutes of gunfire in the Senate, the alert, urgent and a text story with visuals had moved with verified information.
What could have been a chaotic scramble to communicate and coordinate across formats became a controlled, multiformat rapid response made possible by the Manila bureau’s expertise, all done while also making sure staff members were in a safe location.
The all-formats coverage resonated with global customers, and regional audiences engaged strongly with the content even given the late hour at which it broke.
The judges were impressed by the display of AP’s tradecraft with long-cultivated source development, advance planning and seamless all-formats coordination.
For their rapid and comprehensive coverage, Gomez, Favila and Calupitan are awarded this week’s Best of AP — Second Winner.
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