WHEN YOU GET THERE

Hire a reliable driver and guide. In the absence of a translator or guide, the driver usually doubles as one. The driver or guide, Gacad says, can be the journalists' "translator, defender, and savior." A careless guide, Soho adds, can put journalists in harm's way.

The Philippine embassy helped Soho hire a guide in Pakistan. But when her team reached Peshawar, the religious leaders demanded that they take a local guide. Soho was referred to a newspaper where she negotiated with the editor to provide a journalist as their guide for $100 a day. She made it a point to find out where the guide was from and on whose side he was.

Gacad looks for a driver and guide on his own. He goes to the parking lot and checks out two or three drivers. A mental checklist helps him make his selection: Where is the driver from? Does he speak the local language? How reliable is his transportation? And of course, how much is he charging?

Stay in a neutral and secure place. Journalists should avoid bunking with their subjects, as this leaves them open to attacks, as well as suspicion from the other side, says Soho. Still, there are times when journalists have no choice but to take up their subject's offer of lodging. At the height of the communist insurgency, Soho had to avail herself of arrangements made by the military, especially when then Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos went on his inspection trips. Ramos could cover three provinces in a day, hopping from a helicopter, Humvee, a tank. "If you stayed in a hotel of your choice, you'd fall behind," Soho says.

Gacad checks out the place where he's to stay. Is it secure from possible attacks? Are there security personnel around? He examines windows in the room to see if they expose him to gunfire, and locates the exits. Staying in a place with a stable supply of electricity also matters to Gacad, as he has to work with computers, satellite phones, and other equipment.

For journalists staying at the frontline most of the time, buy a tent and provisions, Gacad says.

Don't draw attention to yourself. Gacad chucked his trousers for Afghan wear after he nearly got hit in the leg by sniper fire at a captured Al-Qaida camp. A mujahideen commander later explained that the Al-Qaida people who had retreated to the mountains targeted people in trousers, whom they assumed were foreigners. "I didn't have a bulletproof vest, but I felt more secured in my Afghan outfit because I blended with the locals," says Gacad.

WHEN ON THE ROAD
Travel with another person or in a group. While traveling in a group is ideal, safety-wise, it imposes certain limitations on journalists wanting to do stories on their own. Journalists who dislike traveling in a big group had best make sure they travel with a fellow journalist or a guide as their companion, Gacad says. Never travel alone in risky places.

Stay alert, even when traveling in a group. One danger in traveling in a group is developing herd mentality. A journalist may emerge as the leader and start giving orders, and everyone follows. When the person who is leading puts his or her desire to get a story over personal safety, the group can be in big trouble.

Avoid getting separated from the group. Soho issued this stern warning to a group of young journalists GMA had sent to Kabul. Gacad recalls that four foreign journalists who were killed while crossing Pakistan from Jalalabad to Kabul were separated from their convoy and attacked by bandits.

Avoid traveling with a military convoy or in a military vehicle. Gacad is constantly reminded of how Reuters photojournalist Willie Vicoy died in 1986. Vicoy and several journalists were with a military convoy returning from a town in Cagayan that had been raided by the New People's Army when communist rebels ambushed them.

If you do have to ride a military vehicle, get out of it the first chance you get. Gacad had to ride a military security jeep while covering the first meeting between government negotiators and the Abu Sayyaf leaders in Sulu. But once he got the chance, he transferred to a safer vehicle—an ambulance.

Travel the main road; observe the traffic. In general, main roads are safer than others. A free flow of traffic is also a good sign. But the absence of traffic for about an hour or so may be a warning of trouble ahead. Binoculars come in handy to spot armed people along the road. It is advisable to stop at least a kilometer away from where the armed group is and find out if it is a "friendly force," says Gacad. Proceed if the group is one, get out if it's not.

WHEN THERE'S FIRING
Stay at a vantage position. Finding a vantage position, where journalists can cover the fighting without going too near trouble areas, helps. Powerful cameras allow journalists to cover conflict from a safe distance.

Soho recalls that her cameraman set up his camera between two tanks positioned in front of Camp Cawa-cawa in Zamboanga City when Rizal Alih and his band laid siege on the military facility in 1988. Common sense guided her experienced cameraman: government helicopters were unlikely to bomb the tanks once they attacked the camp. He was right.

Get out when you sense or you're told of an impending attack. Soho did not think twice when colleagues told her to get out of EDSA as the initial batch of helicopters sent by generals still loyal to Marcos were already on their way to fire on the crowd. She and her cameraman ran toward the unoccupied V.V. Soliven building and climbed 10 to 12 floors to the top of the building in total darkness in record time. But they began to worry again when they found that snipers the reformist group had sent to shoot down the helicopters were near the building.

When the shooting begins, hit the ground. Or run in the opposition direction, if firing comes from one direction. Or find a good cover if you're in an open place. Stay under cover until the coast is clear.

Keeping safe in a total ambush situation, with gunfire coming from many directions, is a tall order. But Gacad says it helps to find out who the most experienced person is in the group you are with, be they rebels, soldiers, or journalists. Follow what the person does or tells you to do. Of course, Gacad says, the best thing to do in an ambush or bombing is to get out of the place.