Duterte govt vows to continue respecting press freedom in PH
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Fri, 03 May 2019 05:51:22 +0000
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s administration will continue to respect press freedom in the Philippines, Malacañang assured the public, as today, Friday, marks World Press Freedom Day.
In a statement, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the Duterte administration had been pushing for programs and plans that would protect media practitioners in the country, contrary to the claims of the President’s critics.
“Asahan niyo po na patuloy na irerespeto ng Duterte administration ang press freedom sa bansa taliwas sa mga alegasyon ng iilan,” Andanar said.
(You can expect that the Duterte administration will continue to respect press freedom in the country contrary to the allegations of some.)
“Ilan lamang po sa mga patunay na iginagalang at pinoprotektahan ng administrasyon ang mga mamamahayag sa bansa ay ang Presidential Task Force on Media Security o PTFoMS na agad na nilagdaan ng pangulo sa unang mga buwan ng kanyang pamamahala,” he said.
(Among the initiatives that will prove that the administration respects and protects the media in the country is the creation of Presidential Task Force on Media Security o PTFoMS which the President immediately signed in his first months in office.)
Duterte, in October 2016, signed his first Administrative Order 1, creating the PTFoMS, with its mandate to protect the life, liberty and security of media workers and their families.
For his agency, Andanar said the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) would continue to intensify its campaign to combat fake news and disinformation as these were seen to be a threat to free speech in the country.
“Tayo naman po sa PCOO ay patuloy ang kampanya natin laban sa disinformation o pagpapakalat ng fake news sapagkat isa po ito sa sumisira sa malayang pamamahayag,” he said.
(We at the PCOO will continue campaigning against disinformation and the spread of fake news because it destroys freedom of expression.)
“Tayo naman po ay kaisa ng lahat ng mediamen sa bansa at sa buong mundo sa pagsusulong at pangangalaga sa karapatan sa press freedom,” he said.
(We are one will all the mediamen in the country and all over the world in pushing and protecting the rights to press freedom.)
Duterte has time and again been under fire for “attacking” journalists and media companies.
Recently, the President, through his spokesman Salvador Panelo, came out with an alleged ouster matrix against Duterte.
The matrix published first on The Manila Times linked several journalists to a supposed ouster plot against Duterte.
Among those tagged were the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), and media organizations Vera Files, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and Rappler, which have been critical of the administration.
Written by the paper’s chairman and Duterte appointee Dr. Dante Ang, the Times’ report said that media practitioners allegedly plant fake news, “manipulate public emotion, touch base with the Leftist organization, enlist the support of the police and the military, then go for the ‘kill’.”
The groups tagged in the supposed ouster plot had denied the allegations and slammed the Duterte administration for putting the lives of journalists and human rights lawyers in danger.
Following the release of the matrix, the NUPL filed a manifestation at the Supreme Court on the matrix to justify its plea for protection from alleged harassment from government forces.
The Philippine National Police said it was investigating some media practitioners who were supposedly members of groups moving for Duterte’s ouster. CATHERINE S. VALENTE
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