The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) slammed SAGIP-Partylist Representative Rodante Marcoleta for turning the House hearing on ABS-CBN’s franchise on Monday, June 8, into a platform “for personal revenge to bully” ABS-CBN reporter Mike Navallo, whom the NUJP said “did not deserve to be bullied for the truth”.
“It is also utterly insidious of Marcoleta to conflate a reporter’s alleged misdeed with how ABS-CBN and its chairman emeritus Gabby Lopez have supposedly failed to instill what the good congressman considers “Filipino values.”
The NUJP was referring to how Marcoleta called Navallo “un-Filipino” for the reporter’s story that was released before the lawmaker could air his side in a press conference that he requested the reporter to set up.
Navallo ran an exclusive story aired on ABS-CBN’s flagship newscast TV Patrol and posted in the network’s news website about the lawmaker’s record of authoring bills seeking the legislative franchise renewals of several broadcasting companies with more than 50-year franchises and which offer Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs), contrary to his position on the ABS-CBN franchise renewal.
However, it is unheard of for a journalist to set-up press conferences. It is the job of a public relations or media relations officer, a fact stated by University of the Philippines journalism professor and journalist Danilo Arao
“A journalist does NOT organize press conferences. That is the job of an MRO (media relations officer). So what do you call a legislator who second-guesses the workings of the press? Putative Roleta,” Arao posted in his Facebook account.
The NUJP said that if Marcoleta claims Navallo’s report was wrong, the lawmaker should have done the “proper thing” to call the attention of ABS-CBN where Navallo works, and file his complaint, “not turn the halls of Congress into a bully pulpit to slake his personal vendetta.”
“But as it turns out, not only did Marcoleta’s actions belie his traditional title of “honorable,” he was absolutely wrong about his accusations against Navallo. Contrary to Marcoleta’s claims, Navallo’s report was accurate and based on documentary evidence,” the NUJP continued.
“In short, Marcoleta lied, making what transpired in the House session hall an embarassing display of misguided petulance.”
The NUJP said that Marcoleta owes not only Navallo but ABS-CBN Chairman emeritus Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III and ABS-CBN network “a very public and, hopefully, sincere apology” for, what the journalists’ union said the congressman “unjustly maligned by his irresponsible accusations and faulty logic,
The NUJP also blasted the the House committees of Legislative Franchises and Good Governance for allowing Marcoleta to use the joint committee hearings “to mount personal attacks against a journalist that had absolutely nothing to do with the matter at hand.” (Rommel F. Lopez)