ADVERTISEMENT
Makabayan lawmakers want House inquiry into PCOO's 'edits' of Duterte speeches
By ERWIN COLCOL,GMA NewsThe House Makabayan Bloc has filed a resolution calling for an investigation into the alleged practice of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) to "edit out" parts of President Rodrigo Duterte's speeches.
In House Resolution 1062, which directs the House Committee on Public Information to conduct the probe, the six-member bloc slammed the PCOO for the edits made in the President's speeches, saying it "runs counter to its mandate to ensure transparency and full disclosure of the chief executive's pronouncements and official activities."
"The said decision also deprives Filipinos their right to know, and further puts into the question the credibility and transparency of the national government's communications arms," the lawmakers said.
The lawmakers cited the President's speech before soldiers in Jolo, Sulu aired early last week.
In the said speech, Duterte boasted dismantling the country's oligarchy without declaring martial law, pointing out that these oligarchs have been controlling the country's economy for years.
Although the President's speech about oligarchs came only days after the ABS-CBN franchise application was denied, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte was not referring to the Lopezes
ADVERTISEMENT
However, an unedited audio clip of the chief executive's speech indicated that Duterte talked about ABS-CBN and the scuttled oligarchy after a rant against some business leaders, and these appear to have been edited out of the video posted on the website of the PCOO.
Despite the uncut audio showing that Duterte was talking about ABS-CBN, Roque maintained that the president’s statement was not about the Lopez family.
Gabriela Women's Party Representative Arlene Brosas earlier denounced the move to edit out portions of Duterte's speech, saying it was "a vain attempt to break any connection between Duterte's tirades against the oligarchs and the shutdown of ABS-CBN."
"In fact, his full unedited speech has confirmed what we have been saying from the start of the franchise hearing -- that this is all about the President's vindictive string-pulling to make sure that the network is out this year, at the expense of jobs and press freedom," she said.
Brosas said this incident only shows need for a more free press to look into what is being officially aired by government agencies.
"Public statements of the Chief Executive are always imbued with public interest, as these constitute policy pronouncements that can affect the lives of ordinary citizens," she said.
"Hence, any modification of the broadcast version of the speech deprives the public of transparency and their right to know," she added. -NB, GMA News