Senators question need for PCOO press caravan's European trip

Senators on Monday questioned the necessity of sending the Presidential Communications Operations Office's (PCOO's) "Press Freedom Caravan" to Europe to answer queries on the recent arrest of journalist and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.

"Is it really necessary to spend people's money on this?  Hindi pa ba sapat ang paliwanag ng iba't opisyal na nagsalita hinggil sa isyu?" asked Senator Grace Poe.

"Nasa korte na rin ang bagay na ito, kaya pabayaan na natin ang proseso na gumulong. Mas mainam na gamitin ng PCOO ang pera nito sa pagpapakalat ng impormasyon para hikayatin ang mga magulang na pabakunahan ang kanilang mga anak. O kaya naman, tumulong sa information dissemination para sa isang maayos at mapayapang eleksyon."

Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan was similarly perplexed by the government's sudden need to explain Ressa's arrest.

"Why is the government suddenly interested in clearing its name before the international community on the arrest of Maria Ressa, when before it has ignored criticisms on extrajudicial killings as a result of the drug war? Aren't the President's defenders enough to parry the views on the apparently harassment incident?" asked Pangilinan in a statement.

"Could it be that Secretary Andanar and the PCOO people just want a whiff of winter, thus, the sudden urge to go into this information caravan? How much is the PCOO spending for this trip in taxpayers' money? "

Pangilinan suggested that government resources were better spent on an information drive on vaccinations.

Meanwhile, in his own statement, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar explained that the Press Caravan had been sent to Brussels and Geneva, not just because of the Ressa arrest, but primarily "to clarify the issue on 'involuntary disappearances,' anti-communist terrorist groups, among others."

"The arrest of Ms. Maria Ressa happened two days after the official delegation left for Europe. Nobody from the delegation was aware it was coming. In any case, it is just natural for me to instruct the PCOO officials in Europe to answer possible queries about Ms. Ressa," said Andanar.

Furthermore, Andanar claimed that his radio interview, in which he allegedly said that the caravan was organized to explain the arrest, was taken out of context.

"I only used Ressa’s case as an example of what might be raised in the caravan; We didn’t know much about the Ressa case when we prepared for this trip," the PCOO chief said.

"Rest assured no public funds are wasted in this official mission which came about from a directive from the National Security Council. All engagements in Bosnia, Brussels and Geneva are all part of PCOO mandate to deliver and disseminate information relation to policies, programs, and achievements of the President and Executive Branch." — Virgil Lopez/Amita Legaspi/DVM, GMA News