Like dad, Paolo Duterte to shy away from media

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Change is not coming with regard to the Duterte family’s icy relationship with the media.

Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte said yesterday that he intends to keep avoiding the media during the duration of his father’s term as president.

“That is my plan,” was the presidential son’s response when asked if he was prepared to keep up their family’s “hide and seek” stance with the media.

While media coverage is not foreign to them, the young Duterte said their actions will be scrutinized in an entirely new level as they are now the country’s first family.

“Being a Duterte, not only our jobs as government officials but also our actions will be under the scrutiny of the media. Kaya umiiwas kami sa media (That’s why we would rather avoid media),” a smiling Duterte said.

A reporter posed:  “You know [the media] can’t be avoided, right?”

“I actually did it this morning,” the city vice mayor jested. He then narrated how he was able to avoid the media when he arrived in this city on Friday after attending his father’s inauguration.

Paolo’s father, President Rodrigo Duterte, started shunning the media after international press group “Reporters Without Borders” called on their Filipino counterparts to boycott the President after his controversial remarks against journalists.

Earlier, the then incoming President suggested in one of his late night briefings that some journalists deserved to be killed because they were corrupt. He also wolf-whistled a female reporter who was asking him a question.

On June 3, Presidential Management Staff chief Bong Go said the President-elect would not hold any more press conferences to avoid blunders.

Since then, the media has been barred from entering the “Malacañang of the South” in Panacan and on Thursday, only state-owned television PTV4 was allowed inside Malacañang Palace for his inauguration.