Duterte says don’t harass media, Palace says don’t threaten De Lima
Thanks for the support but don't threaten journalists, President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday appealed to his supporters.
Duterte in a speech delivered at the Philippine National Police's Camp Alagar in Cagayan de Oro said that he had been told that his supporters had threatened some members of the international media.
"I appreciate very much your support and may be your--how would I say it--enthusiasm to back me up. You are correct, I am doing nothing wrong but of course we should also not threaten people kasi hindi na sila makapagsulat ng totoo," Duterte said.
The National Union of Journalists in Philippines (NUJP) on Monday asked the Duterte administration to probe the social media attacks versus freelance journalist Gretchen Malalad and Al-Jazeera correspondent Jamela Alindogan-Caudron.
Malacañang in an ealier briefing also urged Duterte supporters to stop harrassing Senator Leila de Lima as well as media practitioners.
"Hindi ho maganda ‘yung we are threatening our ano, our own ‘no. Siyempre Senador po natin si Senador De Lima. She is an elected official of the land," Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.
"At ganon din po ang ating mensahe sa mga media men na hina-harass sa social media space," he added.
"We all know that the social media is a free space and we can say whatever we want to say. Pero siguro ang pakiusap po natin ay huwag ho tayong magkasakitan ng mga pino-post natin sa social media at lalong lalo na ho ay huwag ho tayong… Iwasan ho natin na i-threaten ‘yung ating mga kasamahan sa media," Andanar said.
"It’s just basic thing, you know... 'Do unto others what you want others to do unto you,'" he added. —NB, GMA News
