Journalists linked to ‘Oust Duterte’ matrix vow to ‘never go down’
Credit to Author: GLEE JALEA| Date: Tue, 07 May 2019 12:23:47 +0000
JOURNALISTS who were linked to the so-called “Oust-Duterte matrix” reiterated the need to stand together in fighting for the truth amid alleged threats from the government.
In a public forum hosted by the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center at the UP-Diliman in Quezon City on Tuesday afternoon, journalists and professionals converged to tackle the contingency plans and long-term solutions that must be done under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte where media and various organizations were seen as constantly under threat.
The forum dubbed as “This is The Matrix: A Free Public Forum” was a take from the controversial matrix, which was published last April 22 by The Manila Times.
Written by Dr. Dante Ang, the Times chairman emeritus, the matrix linked a hooded “Bikoy,” who accused members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s family of illegal drug activities in a series of videos entitled “Ang Totoong Narcolist”, to a number journalists, among them Ellen Tordesillas, president of VERA Files and Maria Ressa, Rappler CEO and executive director.
“Our goal is to never go down,” said Ressa who is also facing tax evasion charges from the government.
Luis Teodoro, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility trustee, said that a journalist’s task was to always provide context and give further meaning to his or her story and expressed dismay over the Times matrix for “having no context.”
“Anong klaseng data yung ginamt nila? (What kind of data was used here?) There was a lot of imagination involved,” said Ramon Guillermo, Faculty Regent of UP.
“Sisirain talaga nila (administration) kasi ang media ay one of the pillars of democracy. There can be no democracy hangga’t walang freedom of the press so kailangang patayin yung malayang pamamahayag (The administration will really destroy the media because it is one of the pillars of democracy. There can be no democracy until there is no freedom of the press, that is why they want to kill independent reporting),” Tordesillas added.
“[The matrix alone] demonstrates the administration’s lack of respect for the rule of law,” said Ephraim Cortez, secretary general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers.
When asked for specific solutions to threats against press freedom, the speakers cited the importance of being on the lookout for familiar patterns of vilification, not just in media, but in various institutions.
“A long term solution: Education; medium term: Media literacy; short term: Demand action from social media platforms,” Ressa said, adding that Rappler was building communities that are vigilant when it comes to threats of disinformation.
Tordesillas added that as fact-checkers, trolls should not be given the attention that they seek to prevent the spread of misleading or inaccurate stories.
“Trolls want attention so we don’t give them the attention that they crave for. There are those who post fake news, who use lies to deliberately deceive. That’s what we do as fact checkers. We [also tag stories] as false or misleading,” she said.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) recently said that there has been no investigation on the matrix.
Palace spokesperson Salvador Panelo previously released the matrix on the same day that it was published by The Times, claiming that the information came from the Office of the President. He later backtracked on his claim and said that he merely received a copy via text from an “unknown number.”
Meanwhile, Bikoy identified himself on Monday as Peter Joemel Advincula who sought legal assistance from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also filed charges of inciting to sedition against “Ang Totoong Narcolist” web developer Rodel Jayme, who put up MetroBalita.net where the videos were uploaded. Jayme was arrested two weeks ago and has since been under the custody of the NBI.
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