No more interviews until the end of term, Duterte says

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte over the weekend said that he would no longer grant interviews to the media supposedly until the end of his term.

Duterte made the remark in a brief exchange with TV5 reporter France Noguera on Sunday night.

“Hindi na ako talaga. Sorry ha. Talagang ano ako, boycott,” he said in a video uploaded on Noguera’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

President elect Rodrigo Duterte: No more media interviews to avoid criticisms pic.twitter.com/TfLkifiCo8

— France Noguera (@francenoguera) June 5, 2016

Asked how long he would boycott the media, Duterte said: “Until the end of my term.”

“Basta wala. Ayoko na,” he added.

Duterte said that by limiting his interactions with the media, he will would be less vulnerable to mistakes.

“May interview, maraming mali. Marami na namang criticism, so no interview, no criticism, no wrong statement, no nothing. Shut up. Ayoko na talaga,” he said in the video.

Duterte’s head executive assistant Christopher “Bong” Go on Friday said that the President-elect would no longer hold press briefings and would course statements and announcements through state-owned People’s Television Network (PTV-4).

"Sa ngayon, wala ng press con para walang mali," Go said.

The statement came after Duterte dared reporters to stop covering him following a call from Reporters Without Borders over his statement on media killings.

In a press conference unveiling his Cabinet on May 31, Duterte said that many of the slain journalists were corrupt.

Local and international press groups decried his statements, saying Duterte may have encouraged the killing of media professionals.

In the same press conference, Duterte catcalled GMA News reporter Mariz Umali.

Duterte defended his action and invoked the constitutional freedom of expression as his defense when pressed for an explanation.

He said that his whistling was not a "sexual thing."

This was not the first time that Duterte drew flak for his jokes and remarks. In November 2015, he cursed at Pope Francis for causing traffic in Metro Manila during his papal visit in January 2015. Duterte later apologized. 

Towards the end of the campaign period, Duterte made a joke about the rape and death of an Australian missionary in 1989. Duterte refused to apologize saying that he was only demeaning the manhood of the criminals. —Trisha Macas/NB, GMA News