One day after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked news website Rappler’s registration, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte publicly accused the publication of allegedly spreading “fake news” while answering questions from reporters yesterday.
“You can stop your suspicious mind from roaming somewhere else. But since you are a fake news outlet and I am not surprised your articles are also fake, we can debate. Now tell me where are our lies and tell me where are yours,” Duterte said.
The president was reacting to an article published by Rappler yesterday that reported how Duterte’s Special Assistant Bong Go allegedly intervened in a PHP15.5 billion (approx. US$300 million) project to acquire ships for the Philippine Navy.
Go denied this when Rappler asked him for a comment and said that someone else might have used his name. Duterte backed him up, denied Go’s involvement in the project, and even told reporters yesterday that he will fire Go if given proof.
“…if you can find [proof that we intervened], I will ask Bong to resign tomorrow. Work on it tonight. Let me know tomorrow and I will fire him if he did intervene, even for one word,” he said.
This is not the first time Duterte criticized Rappler. During his State of the Nation Adress last year, he accused the website of being owned by Americans, the same reason the SEC revoked Rappler’s registration.
Rappler has denied this.
The president has also repeatedly criticized the media for being too critical of the administration.
Many find that the recent revocation of Rappler’s registration is a way for the government to silence the press. Yesterday, international watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the move “a sinister use of state regulatory processes to stifle critical media voices.”
“If Duterte succeeds in silencing Rappler, it will have a profound chilling effect on Philippine media freedom, encouraging self-censorship by reporters and media outlets fearful of government reprisals for critical reporting at a time when the watchdog role of a free press is more urgently needed than ever,” HRW Asia Deputy Director Phelim Kine said in a statement.
But Duterte has denied influencing the SEC’s decision.
“We never had the hand and I don’t give a shit if you continue or not continue with your network,” he said yesterday.
