CEO of Rappler refuses to accept that the President is what the people truly wanted and needed.

The Duterte administration’s chief communicator disputed an opinion piece penned by embattled Rappler CEO Maria Ressa which came out on the Los Angeles Times, saying that it came from somebody who is “out of touch with the political realities” of the country.

In a statement, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar debunked Ressa’s 25 September narrative, “Opinion: Americans, look to the Philippines to see a dystopian future created by social media,” which he described as “baseless and absurd.”

“It is tragic that Ms. Ressa remains out of touch with the political realities on the ground as she continues to insinuate that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte won through lies and fake propaganda.”

Ressa claimed in her piece that “lies laced with anger and hate began to systematically tear our democracy apart in the Philippines,” and that “like a virus, this disease spread fast. With the help of social media, President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in May 2016.”

The PCOO refuted Ressa’s claims that the President was propelled to the highest position of the land by projecting a false image and stressed she simply could not move on from the fact that the Chief Executive “won fair and square and trashed his nearest political rival with the largest electoral margin in Philippine history.”

“Simply put, the CEO of Rappler refuses to accept that the President is what the people truly, wanted and needed. The people hoped for an action man who can bring positive change to their lives and the Filipino people got what they wanted and truly wanted. His style of governance, albeit unorthodox, resonates with the people. This is not democracy being torn apart but rather democracy naturally playing out,” asserted the official.

“The results speak for themselves. Three years into President Duterte’s term, he maintained a high survey rating where 80 percent of Filipinos are satisfied with his performance, and 85 percent approve of and trust the President according to two independent pollsters, notwithstanding all the black propaganda and loud political noise waged against the President and his administration,” he added.

Andanar also blasted Ressa for repeatedly citing the “baseless number” of 27,000 drug addicts allegedly killed under the President’s unrelenting campaign against illegal drugs.

“Sticking to the hard facts that came from our law enforcement agencies, the number of unfortunate deaths from legitimate police operations are only 5,526,” he stressed.

“The government reiterates that this anti-illegal drug campaign is backed by the public. In the second quarter, 82 percent of adult Filipinos are satisfied with this campaign according to another Social Weather Stations survey,” he added.

Andanar went on by guaranteeing that the government “does not employ disinformation tactics” and that the PCOO is at the helm of fighting disinformation “not only to clear out matters that concern the government but also to empower individuals to be responsible and vigilant consumers of media, especially in the digital space, through our “Dismiss Disinformation” campaign and other of our many programs.”

Moreover, allegations thrown by Ressa that anti-Duterte groups, may they be from the opposition or news outlets critical of the President’s way of governance, face “top-down persecution by the government” are baseless and absurd, according to Andanar.

Mr. Duterte, he said, actually welcomes criticisms and in fact even “still signed his very first administrative order as Chief Executive creating an inter-agency body tasked to protect members of the press,” referring to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.

Andanar also cited Republic Act 11458, a measure recently signed by the Chief Executive which expands the coverage of exemptions from revealing the source of published news or information obtained in confidence.

“It is not the policy and practice of the current government to ‘harass’ dissenters, as we only present our side of the story,” Andanar, himself a former newsman, noted.

“The national government will keep on telling the truth and we remain confident the people themselves will tell President Duterte’s true legacy,” he concluded.