Media report politicians’ claims at the expense of verification

JEERS TO media for the continued practice of reporting public accusations made against public figures without independent verification.

In September 2024, a lawmaker alleged that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) attempted to block the Commission on Audit (COA) from complying with a House of Representatives subpoena requesting the submission of a COA report to the House for budget deliberation purposes. Reports did not get the side of the OVP.

Earlier in the year, unverified claims coming from a former senator were also blown up by reports without checking the evidence to validate the truth of the claims.

OVP’s alleged COA block 

Media covered the August 27, 2024 OVP budget hearing at the House in sufficient detail. But from September 1 to September 3, 2024, news accounts from Inquirer.net, Malaya Business Insight, Manila Bulletin, The Manila Times, News5, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and The Philippine Star on the allegations against the OVP made by Representative Gerville Luistro (2nd district, Batangas) lacked independent verification to back the claim. 

According to the reports, Luistro issued a press release alleging that OVP Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez wrote to COA asking the state audit body to defy Congress’ subpoena. The OVP’s letter dated six days before the scheduled budget hearing supposedly insisted that the release of the audit reports violate the “Constitutional Principle of Separation of Powers’ and infringe on the OVP’s ‘right to due process.” Media noted that Luistro called the incident “suppression of public information.” She argued that Congress’ oversight powers over the national budget are constitutionally mandated and that confidential funds are still subject to scrutiny. But media reports did not say whether reporters actually saw the letter. 

Reporting on accusations, media must not be satisfied with “he said – she said” but must attempt to check the validity of the charges. At the very least, reports should include a response from those accused.

Trillanes on ICC arrest warrants, Marcos ouster plot

In May 2024, Antonio Trillanes IV, a former senator, claimed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) would soon be issuing arrest warrants for Philippine government officials. The ICC has been investigating reported human rights abuses in the conduct of the anti-illegal drug program of former president Rodrigo Duterte. 

At a May 7, 2024 media briefing, Trillanes announced that arrest warrants would be out “by June or July” for the former president and some incumbent officials, including Vice President Sara Duterte and Senators Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go. Media (ABS-CBN News, ANC, GMA News Online, Inquirer.net, Manila Bulletin, News5, One News, Philstar.com) carried the claims without verification, relying only on the word of Trillanes.  

Trillanes in the same press conference claimed that former president Duterte was orchestrating an ouster plot of his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. Media (ABS-CBN News, ANC, GMA News Online, Inquirer.net, Manila Bulletin, News5, One News, The Philippine Star, Rappler) likewise picked up the claim based only on Trillanes’ word. 

Unlike the news accounts on Luistro’s accusation against the OVP, some news reports on Trillanes’ claims noted that reporters sought comments from the Duterte camp. 

Investigating beyond ‘he said, she said’ 

Journalists should have investigated the claims, at the very least, included the perspective of other views from concerned organizations, public or private, in the case of Luistro and the OVP. 

Unfortunately, the reported attempt of the OVP to skirt accountability was not given the prominence it deserved, but was relegated to latter parts of a few accounts. As of writing, no follow-up reports have taken up the issue. 

In the case of Trillanes, the stories should have been treated with more nuance, presented as uncorroborated claims which media had not yet confirmed. The claims made by Trillanes turned out to be false as June and July came and went without the ICC releasing the arrest warrants and without any ouster ploy coming to pass. Trillanes has since announced that he would be running for mayor of Caloocan City in the 2025 midterm elections next year.

Verification is a cornerstone of journalism. The reports disregarded this step in their coverage, presenting news stories that proved to be no more than just political noise.