MANILA, Philippines — Vera Files President Ellen Tordesillas on Wednesday challenged Malacañang to present evidence of the alleged ouster plot against President Rodrigo Duterte.
The veteran journalist issued the statement after Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo bared matrices, claiming the Liberal Party and Magdalo Party-list were in cahoots with some media entities, including Vera FIles, to discredit Duterte and boost the candidacies of opposition bets.
Mentioned in the matrix were personalities from Vera Files, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, Rappler, and lawmakers Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate.
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“I deny allegations by Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo linking me to any imagined destabilization efforts against the administration,” Tordesillas said in a Facebook post.
“I challenge him to present evidence, not just silly diagrams,” she added.
Last month, Panelo also made a public a matrix linking lawyers and journalists critical of the Duterte administration to an alleged scheme to unseat President.
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On Wednesday, Panelo noted it will be up to the Justice Department to determine if there is sufficient evidence to file cases against the persons identified in the matrices. /kga