MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Wednesday insisted he was “misquoted” by CNN Philippines in its report on mass testing, adding that its Malacañang correspondent should have corrected the alleged error.
“It was a wrong quote, it was a misquote. Because the context that the mass testing had to do with the Wuhan testing was omitted. CNN has since corrected the story. So there was really a mistake,” Roque said in an interview over ANC’s “Headstart.”
“And, sa akin naman, if there’s a mistake, and you acknowledge the mistake, I don’t even demand an apology, just correct it because we’re all in the business of the truth. That, to me, is enough,” he added.
Roque, during his online press briefing Tuesday, singled out CNN Philippines’ Malacañang correspondent Triciah Terada for a supposed erroneous report titled “Up to private sector to carry out mass testing, Roque says amid limited testing capacity.”
CNN Philippines, in a statement, stood by its story, even as it disclosed that the questioned article was written, not by Terada, but by another writer.
“It turns out, it was not Trish who wrote the article, and I think personally, I’ve sent a message to Trish. But I also feel that as the Malacañang reporter, she should have corrected the story of her news outfit, particularly because it’s her beat,” Roque said.
Roque also lamented why the article did not have a byline and said the person who wrote it should be identified.
“Whoever wrote the article? And there was no byline, that’s the problem. Why is it that some news agencies do not have bylines for the stories para we know who wrote it?” Roque said.
“In this case, there was really an error that they have corrected, but we also need to know who that person was because I think as a professional, the journalist who made the error should be identified because it will affect the reputation,” he further said.
CNN Philippines said it was “regrettable” that Terada was not given a chance to challenge Roque’s allegations, which could “harm her reputation as a journalist and a professional.”
The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), meanwhile, called out Roque for singling out the television report since multiple news organizations carried the similar quote and that he should apologize to Terada.
