President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of PCO
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday stressed the importance of media’s role as watchdogs in providing check and balance to the government.
He made the pronouncement during the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected officers of several media groups at the Palace.
“Continue strengthening this partnership between the media and the government. It is critical. We need [the] media to be there. Government would not function as well as it does without the media,” said Marcos in his speech.
“Because if unfettered, government can go in any direction and we need, once in a while, a watchdog to say, look, look, look, you are going too far this way, you’ve made a mistake here, and makes us think, make us reexamine what we have done and perhaps take into account what has been said by our media practitioners,” he added.
Marcos also noted how critical reports can sometimes be right, even if it is directed to him.
“I always say when there are reports and there are people who are critical of my administration, and people say ‘why do you listen to that? That just puts you in a bad mood.’ I said, ‘they might be right — despite being critical of you, maybe one guy is right.’ So, listen to everything. Don’t shoot the messenger. If they really believe what they’re saying, then think about it, baka naman tama siya (perhaps it’s right).
“And that’s why we need you. We need the media. I always consider you partners in government and that the check and balance that you provide is very important,” he added.
He urged journalists to continue their efforts in helping the public distinguish truth from misinformation and disinformation.
Marcos also assured journalists of the government’s commitment to make the Philippines a safe haven for media practitioners.
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