Truth in news reporting, not ‘malicious coverage’
P200M DAMAGE SUIT A lawyer for Vice President Jejomar Binay holds a copy of the P200-million damage suit Binay filed against the Inquirer, Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Alan Peter Cayetano, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales (from left inset) and nine others. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA; INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
THE FOLLOWING is a statement issued by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on the damage suit filed by Vice President Jejomar Binay against the newspaper:
“We learned from news reports that Vice President Jejomar Binay filed an action seeking P200 million in damages against the Philippine Daily Inquirer and several individuals and government officials. We have not yet officially received a copy of the complaint.
“We emphasize that our news reports are either based on public documents and documents which have been made public by the courts or prosecutorial agencies or pertain to matters of legitimate public interest. We regret that the Vice President views the truth in our news reporting as ‘malicious coverage’ intended to ‘unduly condition the minds of the public.’
“We are at a loss why the Vice President has singled out the Philippine Daily Inquirer even as the complaint itself mentions some defendants getting ‘maximum media mileage’ from several media outfits (the Philippine Daily Inquirer was not among those mentioned). The Philippine Daily Inquirer was also not the first to report the ‘freeze’ order of the Court of Appeals.
“We value integrity and editorial independence in carrying out our duty to inform and serve the public interest. The role and mission we have taken requires us to uphold freedom of the press enshrined in the Philippine Constitution. We shall continue to discharge this mission with neither fear nor favor.”
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