Talk about the power of media--and multimedia.

On Saturday morning, the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) general manager and his family narrowly escaped a kidnapping or hijacking attempt while driving in the province of Batangas.

The hero who came to their rescue? A journalist who scared off the would-be kidnappers or hijackers by shouting that he was from the media while shooting video using his camera-phone.

PTA general manager Robert Dean Barbers recounted his harrowing experience in a telephone interview with INQUIRER.net. Barbers was with his wife, three kids (aged 14, 10 and 6) and a friend when armed men riding a Toyota Revo blocked his Ford Explorer.

Here's an excerpt from the INQUIRER.net Breaking News story:

"Pag baba ko, biglang may isang angel na media ang lumutang at sinasabing ‘media ako, media ako. Ano nangyayari dito?’ (When I stepped down, an angel from the media suddenly appeared and said, 'I’m from the media. What's happening here?') He was taking a video of what was happening with his phone. Ayun, tumakbo sila (The suspects ran)," he said.

In an update that was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper, the local media practitioner was later identified as Benjie Aclan.

Barbers' wife Katrina was also able to take photos of the incident using her camera-phone. You can see one of the photos provided by Barbers in this update.

As of this writing, two of the four suspects have been arrested, one of whom has been identified as a policeman, while the other is a member of the Philippine Air Force.