DOJ chief to media: Stop exaggerating on RORB

MANILA, Philippines - Amid media groups' opposition to the controversial Right of Reply Bill (RORB), Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez advised journalists Friday to stop "exaggerating" or "twisting" their stories. Gonzalez said such exaggeration had brought shame on the nation because some sectors of media tend to make big deals out of "hearsay." "We ourselves tayo mismo bumabanat sa sarili natin. We should not exaggerate, sana gawin natin let us just report the truth, let us not exaggerate. Marami nangyari ang istorya iba-iba ang headline iba ang istorya [We tend to hit ourselves. We should not exaggerate. There are so many stories that had been twisted]," he said in an interview on dwIZ radio. He cited the case of alleged bribery and collusion marring World Bank-funded projects, saying many media stories were based on "hearsay." The World Bank's report had linked First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and several politicians to alleged irregularities in infrastructure projects. "Sa World Bank panay hearsay ang sinasabi tapos tayo ang binabatikos dito pero palagi hearsay ang mga basehan nila [In the case of the World Bank, media took hearsay and made a big deal of it]," Gonzalez said. On the other hand, he said he had been at the receiving end of what he called stories "twisted" to sell copies of newspapers. "They are twisting stories sometimes to suit what they think should be said in order to sell, to exaggerate stories to make headlines interesting to people," he said. But Gonzalez said he "hopes" the RORB, should Congress push through with it, will be "level." "I hope it will be level, hindi natin gusto kasi that a law is not fair [We do not want a law that is not fair]. A law must always be fair, that is the principle," he said. - GMANews.TV