Phl press freedom will remain free, assures Palace

The Duterte administration condemns fake news and will never participate in spreading lies.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo reiterated Malacañang’s stand after a NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence (StratCom) report indicated that “state-sponsored propaganda has chilling, far-reaching effects that come about through official intimidation as well as online trolling and harassment.”

Panelo stressed that regardless of where fake news comes from, it remains untrue. President Rodrigo Duterte himself has been the subject of fake reports many times over, the Palace legal counsel said.

“Alam mo ang fake news ay iisa lamang, fake. Whether saan man nangagaling ‘yan, eh fake pa rin yan at ang gobyerno kailan man ay hindi pumapasok sa fake news,” Panelo said.

“Doon nga nagagalit ang gobyerno si Presidente eh iyung binabago ang mga facts and figures at hindi nagiging matapat. Di ba iyan ang palaging pinapakiusap ni Presidente sa lahat. Ang gusto nya lang yung truth at fairness,” Panelo added.

On claims that the President intimidates and harasses his critics, including mainstream media, Panelo said it is farthest from the truth.

“Si Presidente hindi nagkakaroon ng ganun intention. Si Presidente isa lang ang panuntunan niya, bigyan ng proteksyon at pagsilbihan ang taong bayan. Iyun ang kanyang batayan sa kanyang galaw bilang Presidente ng bansa. Siya ang hina-harass ng mga kritiko, hindi sya ang nangha-harass. Pinapatupad niya lang kung ano ang batas,” Panelo said.

Panelo said press freedom in the country remains one of the freest in the world.

“Eh ‘di ba napakamalaya ang pamamahayag dito sa ating bansa. Walang na-i-dedemanda dahil sila ay nagsalita laban sa gobyerno o nag-criticize. Pakinggan mo lang yung mga salita ng mga komentarista, ibat-ibang istasyon, radyo. Basahin mo ang mga koluminista, makikita po dito sa ating bansa ang pinakamalaya,” Panelo said.

The report titled “Politics and Profit in the Fake News Factory: Four Work Models of Political Trolling in the Philippines” was authored by Jonathan Ong, an associate professor of Global Digital Media at the University of Massachusetts Armherst, and Jason Vincent Cabañes, an associate professor of Communication at De La Salle University.

They wrote that there is “intentionality from the president himself to intimidate and harass his critics. This involves him deploying the fake news label in tirades against mainstream media. His outbursts are usually a response to their unsavory reports of the government and his policies, most notably the war on drugs. His message is taken forward by his so-called ‘keyboard army,’ consisting of hyper-partisan political pundits, social media influencers and fans.”