Composite image of National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. (INQUIRER file photo)
MANILA, Philippines – The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) on Tuesday asked the public to take caution in attributing pro-China tags to journalists and bloggers.
NUJP Chair Jonathan de Santos said while China is attempting to influence people in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) discussions, Filipinos should be careful about quickly accusing media persons of being biased towards China without sufficient evidence.
“I don’t think it can be denied that China has been trying to influence the discourse on the West Philippine Sea,” de Santos said in a text interview with INQUIRER.net.
“But we should also be wary of attributing pro-China, or seemingly pro-China, content and positions to foreign control or to bloggers, influencers, and journalists being paid off without proof,” he emphasized.
On the other hand, the NUJP Chair and long-time journalist also urged influencers, bloggers, and journalists to reveal their involvement with the Chinese government.
“These engagements should at least be disclosed by influencers, bloggers and journalists,” he stressed.
De Santos’ statements were made in reaction to Senator JV Ejercito’s allegations about some Filipino bloggers being allegedly in cahoots with Chinese government.
In an interview with DZRH, Ejercito alluded to the supposed existence of bloggers who have been “funded” and “indoctrinated” by the Chinese Communist Party.
The bloggers reportedly back former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I am a supporter of President Duterte during his time in office. I defended almost all of his infrastructure projects because I believed in them,” he said on Saturday.
“However, there are some factions within the DDS (Diehard Duterte Supporters) who are allegedly being funded by China to create destabilization,” he said.
Ejercito, however, did not come out with the names of the bloggers.
He just said he was referring to influencers who allegedly spent an all-expense paid trip to China for two weeks.
The senator said the bloggers had criticized him after he commented on WPS.
Ejercito said among those who had also been targeted were Philippine Coast Guard Spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela Philippine Coast Guard and Secretary Gilbert Teodoro of the Department of National Defense.
In August, Tarriela called out on social media Filipinos who “defended” China’s aggressive tactics in WPS, branding them as “unpatriotic” and traitors.