GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Kris Aquino speaks up about being dragged into the James Deakin mess
A photo that Brandon Vera released on his social media accounts had a lot of netizens reeling with anger all through Sunday, it turned viral several days after it was posted. It prominently featured motoring journalist James Deakin with Bongbong Marcos, architect Jun Palafox, and Vera himself.
Coming Soon.... stay tuned. Ouss????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
A post shared by Brandon Vera (@brandonthetruthvera) on
Deakin issued an explanation Sunday afternoon, saying it was for a video blog he calls “How do you Solve a Problem Like Manila.”
“It is just one of thousands of recorded conversations I’ve had with lawmakers, politicians and other government officials through the course of my career. It is what I do,” he explained.
He added that such photos are not an endorsement and apologized if it seemed to be that way. “I’ve never endorsed any politicians and I do not plan on starting now. I’m sorry if the perceived association offended anyone. That was not my intention,” he wrote.
And then he addressed the big fat pink elephant in the room:
“For the record, I’m not a BBM defender. Nor am I a detractor. I’m a transport journalist and road safety advocate that is passionate about finding solutions to this traffic crisis we are all going through. And that requires having conversations and interviews with a whole range of people. Not just people that I like or who agree with me. And that is the very least you should expect from an objective journalist.”
Not a lot of people were convinced with his explanation, but making it worse were his additional remarks in the comments section. One of them, now since deleted, was a screen cap of an old episode that featured Kris Aquino.
But Kris won’t let herself be dragged into the mess.
In “Wo-Man Up,” a blog spot that Kris posted on Facebook, the queen of all media began: “Let’s be HONEST. We were both hired by Petron to do a webisode for them. NAGTRABAHO TAYO. BINAYARAN TAYO. You were informative and very good for on cam conversation…now I understand the need to ‘explain' yourself but really? You’ll use a 5'3 me as a ‘shield’?”
A post shared by ???????? Kris Aquino (@krisaquino) on
After recalling the subject of the episode they shot — preparing for road trips with kids and the inevitable Metro Manila traffic — Kris wrote a thoughtful message for the journalist:
"In life, we make personal, professional, and political choices. You struck me as being an intelligent man, so a picture will always say much more and mean so much to so many people.
I further recall you told me during the course of that taping, we are responsible for our driving but unfortunately, the greater challenge is that we also need to be responsible in how we react ot the cars in our midst.”
On Instagram, Kris posted a series of screengrabs showing about how Deakin reached out to her, apologized for his move, and how Kris accepted his apology. “I sincerely appreciate the humble gesture to reach out, apologize and clear the air quickly,” read a portion of her caption.
Kris' blog post is now going viral with many netizens cheering her clarity of thought, her classy comeback, and her ability to smoothly insert a few of her endorsements, too. — LA, GMA News
