Confused or Clueless About Norway’s Role? Why Blame the Media?

AT A regular press briefing in Malacañang on June 18, reporters asked Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque about the peace talks with the Left which has been the subject of news accounts since last week. Roque talked about President Rodrigo Duterte’s intention to resume the talks in the Philippines instead of in Norway, which has been acting as a third-party facilitator since 2001.

The revelation prompted journalists to ask Roque whether there is still a need for a third-party facilitator in the talks in the Philippines, to which he replied: “Wala na po siguro. Nandito na naman tayo sa Pilipinas.” The response clearly expressed his view that there may be no need for Norway to play a role if the talks were held in the country.

Hours after the statement, Roque released a statement, citing a part of the Presidential Communications Operations Office’s (PCOO) transcript of the briefing which showed him saying that anyone who wants to help or has been involved in the peace process can help, without specifying the role of Norway. He further added that he was “referring to the venue” when he made the remark.

Later in the evening, Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza  jumped in, posting on his Facebook page, slamming a media report, without specifying which, that said that Norway was “being removed or is no longer ‘facilitator’” should the talks be resumed in the Philippines. Dureza called it a “total fabrication,” an example of “irresponsible journalism.”

The comments thread identified what Dureza was referring to: an online article which carried a misleading headline that categorically stated: “No more third-party facilitator in peace talks with Reds – Palace.”  But the text of the article itself was clear, simply recording Roque’s statement, that perhaps, there would be no need for a third party if the talks were to be held in the country.

Media’s fault?

CMFR reviewed reports from the main broadsheets Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Philippine Star; free TV news programs 24 Oras (GMA-7), Aksyon (TV5), News Night (CNN Philippines) and TV Patrol (ABS-CBN 2); as well as select news websites from June 18 to 20 2018.

Except for the misleading headline above, every account online and in mainstream media clearly referred to Roque’s statement, as quoted above. The news also faithfully picked up Roque’s statement and Dureza’s criticism of the media.

Roque’s clarification which responded to the media report carried only part of what was pertinent in the transcript, leaving out what was relevant to the question.

Media did not miss this omission. TV Patrol on June 19 (“Dureza, tinawag na “irresponsible journalism’ ang mga balitang lumabas tungkol sa pahayag ni Roque”) recalled the clarification released by Roque, noting that it did not include the segment of the transcript which recorded the exchange between CNN Philippines’ Ina Andolong and Roque.

Andolong asked who, and whether there will be a third-party facilitator in the negotiations in the Philippines.

Below is the transcript of the exchange, which TV Patrol showed in the report:

Andolong: Who will be facilitating the talks here, then?

Roque: We have a panel, and they have the authority to fix the logistics of the talks.

Andolong: No third party?

Roque: Wala na po siguro kasi nandito naman tayo sa Pilipinas. Pero you know, any party who wants to help and who’s been involved in the process can help ‘no. Pero punto lang ni presidente eh hindi niya na maintindihan kung bakit kinakailangan pa sa ibang bansa ‘no ang pag-uusap.

CMFR jeers the two public officials for the brazen attempt to pass the buck and blame the media. Roque’s words suggest that his understanding of the role of facilitator or third party was needed only if the country was providing the venue of the talks. Enough words indicate that, contrary to his explanation, he was talking about the role of Norway at the time, not just the venue.

In the end, the fiasco wasn’t really a case of “irresponsible journalism”, but rather, a lack of clarity from Malacañang’s mouthpiece himself as it was Roque’s statements that caused the confusion, which the government tried to blame on the media.

 

Note: The presidential spokesperson referred to the talks being held in the Philippines before government consulted with the Norway, the third-party facilitator of the peace talks with the Left.

On June 20, the Facebook page of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) posted a press release which said that the Norwegian government is still “strongly committed” to facilitate the peace talks between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front, as expressed by the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide to Sec. Dureza during a meeting in Oslo, Norway. (No date was given. As of this writing, only the PNA and PTV have picked up the OPAPP post.)