Duterte calls media corrupt, particularly Inquirer, ABS-CBN

March 30, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte accused on Thursday media, particularly the Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN television network, as corrupt.

In a speech during the mass oath-taking of the newly appointed officials in Malacanang, Duterte said when the "candidate" of the two big media organizations lost to him in the May presidential elections, "they become really vicious and virulent."

He did not mention the candidate of the two media outfits.

He said the two media organizations have been slanting and twisting their stories.

"They do not complete the sentence and they just zero in on the adjective...however you describe the situation," Duterte said, adding he does not listen or read their opinion pages and only reads factual news.

"That's what ails the Philippine society. It's the corrupt media, the face of the Prietos, also the Lopezes, and the church. The oligarchs of this country," he said.

The Prieto family controls the Inquirer, while the Lopez family owns ABS-CBN.

One of the stories, which according to Duterte was slanted, was the Inquirer's report, quoting him the poor were the ones killed in his war against illegal drugs.

In a statement, the Inquirer debunked Duterte's accusation against the broadsheet.

"The Philippine Daily Inquirer takes exception to President Duterte's remarks that the newspaper has been unfair in its coverage of him and his administration," Inquirer's executive editor Jose Ma. Nolasco said.

Nolasco said since the Inquirer's founding in 1985, it has upheld the highest standards of excellence in journalism.

"Even as we've courageously pursued the truth in our coverage, we've endeavored to get the administration's side of any controversy," Nolasco said.

He even cited the Inquirer Opinion, which runs "View from the Palace" every week, where Cabinet officials explain administration policy and even the personality of the president himself.

"The Inquirer's wide readership and hundreds of awards, prizes and citations from prestigious organizations here and abroad attest to its adherence to accuracy, fairness and balance in its reporting," Nolasco said. Celerina Monte/DMS