Robredo to Philippine press: Remain ‘firm and fair’ amidst ‘harassment’
NAGA CITY— Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday encouraged media organizations in the country to remain “firm and fair” in their reporting despite the seeming “harassment” against Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa.
Ressa was arrested Wednesday evening at Rappler headquarters in Pasig City for a cyberlibel case.
READ: LOOK: The SUV that launched the libel suit against Rappler
Several Senators and lawyers denounced Ressa’s arrest, calling it the administration’s way of silencing its critics.
In an interview with local media here, Robredo said Ressa’s arrest was a similar case during the Martial Law in 1972.
“Ito, nakakalungkot na nangyayari pa din sa atin after ng martial law, after noong dictatorship. Kasi iyong pakiramdam natin, dapat sana iyong nangyari noong panahon ni Marcos, malaking aral na iyon para sa ating lahat, na hindi na natin hahayaang mangyari ulit (It is saddening that this is still happening to us even after martial law, after the dictatorship. We feel that whatever happened under Marcos should have been taken as a big lesson for all of us that we shouldn’t let happen again),” she said.
Robredo further said: “Iyong sa atin, hindi naman natin sinasabi na kung nagkakamali, huwag punahin. Pero iyong sa atin, halimbawa, may pagkakamali iyong Rappler, ayusin iyon to make them accountable, hindi iyong lahat na klaseng harassment (I do not mean that any wrong done should not be criticized. What I mean is, for example, if Rappler has committed an offense, make them accountable not harass them),” she said.
Robredo pointed out that the harassment against Rappler started with tax cases as well as questions on the company’s registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission before the cyberlibel charge against Ressa.
“Very obvious, very obvious that this is harassment,” she added.
Robredo then said she hopes members of the media would be encouraged to stand their ground despite Ressa’s arrest since everyone relies on the media for “fair and balanced reporting.”
“Sana iyong pag-sample sa ibang members ng media, hindi maging deterrent para gawin pa din natin iyong trabaho natin (I hope that this sampling of other members of the media would not be a deterrent for us from still doing our jobs),” she also said. /kga
