Media Shoot Down ‘Ouster’ List

CHEERS TO online news site InterAksyon and ABS-CBN 2’s TV Patrol for calling attention to the falsehoods in Paolo Duterte’s Facebook list of individuals and organizations allegedly conspiring to unseat his father. The list was posted on social media but was taken down a day later.

Tall Tales

The former Davao City vice mayor posted last December 7 screenshots of an Excel file on his Facebook page that names the alleged plotters. The controversial “Anti-Administration Group” included Tindig Pilipinas, the House of Representatives’ Makabayan bloc, several private companies, journalists, church leaders and students, among others. It named Vice President Leonor “Leni” Robredo as the “leader of the united opposition.”

Riddled with factual errors, the post has since been deleted but several pro-administration accounts on social media had made copies and shared them.

Fact-check

InterAksyon’s report on December 11 fact-checked the inaccuracies in the list, such as the inclusion of one “Jim ‘Ducky’ Paredes,” who is actually two different people. Jim is an OPM singer from the band APO Hiking Society, while his brother Ducky is the former press secretary of the late President Corazon Aquino.

The Philippine Star columnist and  Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) director Carmen Pedrosa also made it to the list despite being vocal in her support for President Duterte. InterAksyon pointed out that she was described as the “wife of Don Ramon Pedrosa” even though her husband was the late Ambassador Albert Pedrosa.

TV Patrol’s December 10 report pointed out that Bishop Julio Labayen, who is also on the list, passed away in 2016 before Duterte was elected president. Also on the list are retired Davao Bishop Leo Drona and a non-existent “Bishop Arturo Santos.” 

“Fake News”

Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) committee on public affairs, said officials should be more cautious of their statements that could harm the reputations of individuals and institutions.

Even Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana tagged the list as“fake news.” Robredo also slammed Paolo Duterte and said that posting something without any research or basis is “irresponsible.”

Malacañang, however, defended Paolo Duterte’s right to free expression. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that people are free to accuse others of crimes provided that they do not violate the law. However, publicly accusing anyone of a crime is libel, which is still a criminal offense in the Revised Penal Code.

In his personal Facebook page, journalist Ed Lingao, who is also on the list, acknowledged that Paolo Duterte did take down the post on his own but “he did so without any correction or qualification, and not before it was seen and shared by thousands who took his word for it much like they take his father’s word for whatever comes out of his mouth.” The speed with which social media disseminates information, whether false or true, has been a reason why more people turn to them for news. But Netizens seldom fact-check before posting and sharing false information. Because social media networks are not always reliable, it has become the responsibility of print and broadcast media to correct their errors.