Poe, Escudero: Advice to Andanar on Malacañang-media quarrel

Senator Grace Poe dipped her finger in the spat between media and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar by telling the Palace to work harder in communicating the President’s statements. INQUIRER FILES / CEBU DAILY NEWS

Senator Grace Poe has a piece of advice to President Rodrigo Duterte’s communications team: Work harder and be more proactive in “clearly communicating” his statements to media.

On Wednesday, reporters covering Malacañang slammed Communications Secretary Martin Andanar for claiming that media “misreported” Duterte’s statements about martial law.

“We are disturbed and appalled by the propensity of the officials of this administration to blame the media whenever the inflammatory statements of the President stir controversy or draw flak. This trend should stop as it would not contribute to the elevation of the level of public discourse,” the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) said in a statement Wednesday.

“The media has no obligation to please or satisfy sources because its loyalty is to the citizens, those who will be affected by the actions of people who are far more powerful than them,” it added.

READ: Palace reporters hit Andanar, admin officials: Stop blaming the media

Sought for comment, Poe advised the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) headed by Andanar to “work harder” and “clearly communicate” the President’s statements to the press.

“The PCOO should work harder and be more pro-active in clearly communicating with the press relative to the statements of the President as to content and intent for the benefit of the people’s right to accurate information and in order build better relations between the palace and the people who cover the President,” Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public information and mass media, said in a text message.

Instead of blaming the media, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Andanar “should carry the cudgels” for the President.

“Passing the buck, so to speak, is a knee-jerk reaction of novices, which Sec. Andanar is not, given his media background,” Escudero, member of the Senate minority group, said in a separate text message.

“I think he should, instead, adopt the principle that the buck stops here, with him so to speak…carry the cudgels for President Duterte and simply try to explain where the President is coming from whenever he makes such radical statements,” he added. CBB/rga