Cayetano hits BBC documentary as “anti-Duterte propaganda”

October 3, 2018

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said a documentary of the British Broadcasting Corp on the Philippines is " nothing more than anti-Duterte propaganda."

In a statement on Wednesday, Cayetano said the BBC documentary aired on September 29 in Our World—Philippines: Democracy in Danger? is "more worthy of tabloid journalism and gossip than the venerable institution that we thought BBC was."

The episode misleads viewers about President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s anti-illegal drug strategy, which is actually making Philippine society safer, healthier, and more prosperous for the Filipino people," said Duterte.

"The episode also makes little mention of the sheer magnitude of the drug problem in the Philippines, the enormous damage to millions of families caused by addiction, and the fact that police are under strict orders to follow the law in the conduct of our campaign against illegal drugs," said Cayetano.

"The episode did not take into consideration the actions taken by the Duterte Administration against police officers and other government personnel involved in the illegal drug trade," he added.

Cayetano said if BBC did its homework, it would have known that as of 31 August 2018, the Philippine government arrested 576 government workers, including elected officials and uniformed personnel while another 498 are being investigated for drug-related cases.

"We have also dismissed 105 uniformed personnel for drug-related offenses.  More importantly, from 1 July 2016 to August 31, 2018, we have dismantled a total of 235 drug dens and clandestine laboratories; seized P24.12 billion worth of illegal drugs and drug-related items; and cleared 8,444 barangays or villages of illegal drugs," said Cayetano.

Cayetano said the BBC documentary "paints a one-sided picture of Senator Leila de Lima, Senator Antonio Trillanes, and former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno."

"It overlooks the fact that all three have been given and continue to be given their day in court. The rule of law has been upheld in all three cases. They are not, as the report unfairly alleges, victims of any crackdown on the political opposition. The report also failed to mention the obvious: all three remain free to criticize the Duterte Administration," said Cayetano.

Cayetano urged "the BBC to present an accurate and balanced view of issues about the Philippines in the future so that its audience can make its own assessment of the health of our democracy. "

"More importantly, we believe that by doing so BBC will be able to regain the trust of its audience in its journalistic professionalism and repair the damage it has inflicted on the Philippines and the Filipino people as a result of this one-sided documentary, " he added. DMS