ABS-CBN denies anti-Binay bias

ABS-CBN’s News and Current Affairs department yesterday defended its TV Patrol news, which includes Korina Sanchez among its anchors, against complaints that it was biased against Vice President Jejomar Binay.

The report was “legitimate,” said the network in response to comments that its report on the vice president’s plan to move his office to the Coconut Palace was “slanted to favor the opinion of a Mar Roxas partisan.”

Sanchez is married to former senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas, who lost the vice presidential race to Binay.

The media affairs officer of the vice president had complained that Sanchez rarely mentioned Binay by name and that a recent report on the vice president’s office renovations “not only lacks factual basis…It was also slanted to favor the opinion of a Mar Roxas partisan in the last election who apparently did not know what he was talking about.”

In a statement, Ging Reyes, head of the network’s news and current affairs department, said the report in question covered all angles and presented all sides, including those who support Binay’s plan to hold office at the Coconut Palace (fronting the Manila Bay) and the PNB financial center (in Pasay City).

“How could the story lack factual basis when we showed the footage of the renovations and our reporter was allowed to go inside? Binay himself stated that they will continue to rent offices at the PNB financial center,” noted Bong Osorio, ABS-CBN corporate communications head.

Last Tuesday, Joey Salgado, Binay’s spokesperson, said they appreciated ABS-CBN news reader Korina Sanchez’ “gesture of professionalism” for mentioning Binay’s name when she referred to the Vice President.

Salgado expressed hope Roxas’ wife would “continue mentioning Vice President Binay’s name, not only in negatively-slanted stories.”

On the alleged omission of Binay’s name in TV Patrol telecasts, ABS-CBN ombudsmen Jose Vitug and Danilo Luis Mariano “had found no malicious intent on the part of ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs and Korina Sanchez, in particular.” They said “names of other news subjects are also routinely dispensed with…especially if the people in the report are well-known and immediately recognizable.