18/02/2022
This is in connection with the Facebook post by Mr. Gualberto Laput that made the rounds of social media relative to the incident that transpired this morning wherein he alleged that there was “blatant action to curtail freedom of the press by driving off Dynah Diestro of Abs-Cbn from the office of the Governor while covering the visit of four senators…” Mr. Laput further proceeded by stating that “the governor pointed his finger to her (Diestro) and shooed her away” and concluded that the “governor showed arrogance and at the same time ignorance when he drove Diestro off during office hours and in a normal function”.
I am astounded at the accusatorial tone by which the aforesaid statements were alluded by someone who has no direct or personal knowledge on the sequence of the events. The truth is there was no scheduled press conference inside the Provincial Governor’s Office this morning. Instead, what was arranged was a courtesy call by four (4) senatorial candidates namely, Senators Miguel Zubiri, Joel Villanueva, Sherwin Gatchalian, and former Senator JV Ejercito.
As such, when Sen. Gatchalian first arrived inside my office and with the protocol that the only personnel who will be allowed inside the office are the four senatorial candidates and their respective private assistants, I therefore was surprised by the presence of Ms. Dynah Diestro who had no prior appointment or coordination whatsoever at that time. I then proceeded to question Ms. Diestro’s presence but unfortunately, I obtained no categorical explanation from her end as she immediately walked out from my office.
There is likewise no truth to Ms. Diestro’s claim that I wanted her out of my office as allegedly whispered by Vice Mayor Jimboy Chan. To repeat, she went out from my office out of her own volition after I questioned the reason for her presence. If there is someone who would feel disrespected, it would most definitely be me due to her utter lack of courtesy.
Moving forward, I am and will always be an advocate of press freedom. Most of my life as a politician, I have been at the receiving end of constructive and negative criticisms and have faced them fair and square. But like any other freedom, it behooves upon any person to exercise the same within the confines of fair and factual reportage and basic human decency.
