Palace on Duterte vs media: Let’s wait and see

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang prefers to wait and see how president-elect Rodrigo Duterte will carry out his promise to “metamorphose” when he assumes office on June 30 instead of commenting on his pronouncements.

After deciding not to hold press conferences for the meantime, Duterte started boycotting the media yesterday, his close aide said.

Duterte restricted media coverage following his rants against members of the industry in his recent press briefings.

Outgoing Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said he does not see anything wrong if all statements of Duterte would be made through state-owned television network PTV4 to avoid misinterpretation of his statements. 

“There is no issue about that… All pronouncements from him (Duterte) will be carried by the People’s Television,” Coloma said.

Asked about Duterte’s complaints against the media, Coloma said it would be best to wait until he assumes office as the country’s 16th president.

“We heard the pronouncement of president-elect Duterte that he would change,” Coloma said.

Coloma also refrained from reacting on Duterte’s statement against the United Nations when the president-elect was asked about the international organization’s opposition to his statements on media killings.

He said it would be best to wait for the official pronouncements of Duterte as president, being the principal architect of the country’s foreign policy.

Coloma said the official policies would carry more weight over “initial observations, preparatory remarks” and current discussions.

Duterte’s camp has been complaining that the statements of the president-elect have been taken out of context by the media. 

Rody boycotts media 

President-elect Duterte is boycotting the media, his longtime executive assistant announced yesterday.

Duterte is making himself unavailable to journalists covering him in Davao City after he received flak for his remarks on media killings and for wolf whistling a female television reporter.  

“Kung ayaw niyo daw mag-boycott sa kanya, siya daw ang mag-boycott sa inyo (If you don’t want to boycott him, he will be the one to boycott you),” Christopher “Bong” Go, special assistant to the president and incoming chief of the Presidential Management Staff, told reporters. 

“Anyway, mayor pa naman siya and si P-Noy ang presidente (he is still mayor and Aquino is the president),” Go said in a text message.

Duterte earlier dared members of the media to stop covering him in response to calls by an international media group to boycott him unless the incoming president apologizes for his remarks.

Media groups scored Duterte for his announcement that slain journalists are corrupt and most of them deserved to be killed.

Duterte said he would never apologize for his statements against the media.

“No apologies. I would never apologize,” he told reporters during his last press conference on Thursday.

Communications strategy         

Meanwhile, incoming Presidential Communications Operations Office chief Martin Andanar wants to learn how to handle Duterte from Davao-based journalists.

Andanar said members of the media in Davao City could help enlighten others on the nuances of covering the next president.

Duterte has received flak for his remarks against the media.

“That is why I wanted to speak to Davao journalists. I wanted to know the culture in Davao,” Andanar said. 

“I would be more than happy to have a good relationship between the communications group and the media,” Andanar said.

He also denied reports that Duterte ordered his Cabinet members not to issue any statement to the media. 

“It is not true. There is no such directive,” Andanar told reporters at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, said he expects the relationship between Duterte and the media to improve once the two sides become more familiar with each other.

Sotto said it was good that the conflict between Duterte and members of the media took place before he assumes office.

Duterte earlier described some journalists as “lowlife” and corrupt.

Sotto said he has known Duterte for a long time and noted that some people who are not familiar with him would not know when he is serious or just fooling around.

“I have no right to say what he should or should not do. My analysis of the situation is that the incoming president and members of the media are at a getting to know you stage right now,” Sotto said.

Sotto said Duterte is not someone who holds a grudge and is capable of reaching out to people he had disagreements with.

Meanwhile, a national association of newspapers urged the incoming Duterte administration to protect media workers and uphold freedom of the press.

The Philippine Press Institute (PPI) made the call amid Duterte’s pronouncement that corrupt journalists deserved to be killed. 

The PPI reiterated its stand against the unabated killings of journalists in the country.

It said the Philippines was considered second most dangerous place for media workers, next to strife-torn Iraq. 

The PPI expressed alarm over Duterte’s comments about the media.

The growing number of slain journalists has set off the alarm not only across the country but also globally, the group said.

“The remarks of president-elect Duterte do nothing to counter the spate of media attacks in the country,” the PPI said.

“No one denies the existence of corruption within the ranks of the media. However, citing it as a deplorable reality in journalism practice is one thing, but using it as a justification for murdering or attacking journalists is absolutely another,” it added. 

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) said the government must take responsibility for solving media killings.

“But journalists should also be responsible in performing their job,” VACC chairman Dante Jimenez said.

Jimenez said journalists must know their limitations and should not take advantage of being members of the media. – With Edith Regalado, Marvin Sy, Rhodina Villanueva