Piñol: Malacañang wouldn’t manipulate TIME’s poll

How can Malacañang manipulate an online poll when it can’t even organize its own communications group?

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol made this remark on Monday when sought for comment on the latest TIME Magazine’s online poll on the 100 most influential people in the world which President Rodrigo Duterte topped after being voted by readers.

“What else is new? Talaga namang genuine yung suporta ng masa sa kanya (The support he gets from the people is really genuine) and you know, he’s a different breed. Like him, hate him—ibang klase ang mamang ito (this man is different) and he’s making waves sa international. That could be a reason why,” Piñol said in an interview at the Senate.

And when a reporter asked  if the result was not manipulated, Piñol said: “Grabe ka naman…Sino naman ang magma-manipulate nyan?” (How dare you. Who would manipulate such poll?)

“Unang-una look, ako personally ha, as a former newsman myself, tingin ko nga mahina nga yung handling ng media operations ng Malacañang. Prangka ako sinasabi ko yan, mahina yung operations nila. Naiiwan sila sa pag-release ng istorya, nauuna pa yung independent media entities na mag-release ng story bago yung Malacañang e (Look, personally, as a former newsman, I think Malacanang’s media operations are weak. I’m frank. They are being left out in releasing such stories, the independent media often gets to release such stories first),” he said.

Piñol noted that Malacañang often could not even release the photos of its own photographers fast enough.

“Sabi ko masyadong mabagal yung releases nyo. Pati yung mga litrato ng Malacanang photographers hindi nare-release so kung sasabihin nyo na may media operations para i boost yung image ni Duterte, I wouldn’t believe that (I’ve said press releases are not released fast enough. Even the photos taken by Malacanang photographers are not released fast enough. So I wouldn’t believe they have media operations that can boost Duterte’s image).”

“Ang sinasabi ko wala ngang ganung operation because the basis of that statement is the fact that they can’t even organize very well the media operations of Malacanang. How much  more a popularity contest that has nothing to do with governance in the Philippines,” he added.

Instead of releasing the government’s “official version,” Piñol said, the President’s group had been doing “denials” and “corrections” of stories that came out in various media outfits.

He said  the President had been doing many good activities and programs but they were not reported in the media.  

“Maraming magagandang activity ang President ang hindi nako-cover. Ang daming magandang story na tingin ko hindi extensive yung coverage (The President has many good activities and projects and stories that have not been covered and reported in the media), and that does not give justice to the programs that this guy is doing actually for the Filipino people,” the official added. AU/rga