Reporters Without Borders urges PHL media to boycott Duterte until he issues apology

International media welfare and press freedom advocate Reporters Without Borders has urged the Philippine media to boycott the press conferences of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte until he issues a formal, public apology over his statements on media killings.

“Not only are these statements unworthy of a president but they could also be regarded as violations of the law on defamation or even the law on inciting hatred and violence,” said Benjamin Ismaïl, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk.

RSF also called for legal action against Duterte.

“Duterte should nonetheless be pleased by the existence of these laws because without them he would also be exposed to violent repercussions, according to his own words. We urge organizations that represent the media to not overlook comments of this kind and to bring lawsuits. We also urge the media to boycott the Duterte administration’s news conferences until the media community gets a public apology.”

Answering a question from a reporter on his plans how to handle journalist killings during his press conference on Tuesday night in Davao City, Duterte said that often those who were killed were corrupt.

"Just because you are a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination if you are a son of a bitch," he added.

"Freedom of expression won't save you. The Constitution cannot help you kapag binaboy mo ang isang tao."

According to RSF’s 2016 World Press Freedom Index, the respect for press freedom declined in 2015 in the country. It is ranked 138th out of 180 countries. — APG, GMA News