THE job of a journalist is to report the news, not to be the news. But veteran journalist Josie Serseña found herself on the other side of the camera lens. It was like lightning had struck from a clear blue sky. Early on the morning of July 5, a visitor came to her home in Ormoc City. After some moments of casual conversation, the visitor revealed himself to be a policeman and informed Josie that he had a warrant for her arrest. Later, the cop's uniformed colleagues arrived and implemented the warrant. At the police station, mugshots — displaying Josie's misspelled last name — and fingerprints were taken. Josie was made to remove almost all her clothes for a medical examination. She didn't have cash to post bail, but some kindhearted persons chipped in. After more than 10 hours in detention, Josie was able to go home.
The offense committed by Josie was failure to show up and testify in a June 27 court hearing. Presiding Judge Mario Quinot of the Regional Trial Court Branch 12 in Ormoc City issued a bench warrant on July 2.
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