Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano blasted the British Broadcasting Corp. for airing a documentary on Sept. 29 entitled “Philippines: Democracy in Danger?” which the DFA chief said, “amounts to nothing more than anti-Duterte propaganda.”
He also demanded that BBC should present an accurate and balanced view of issues about the country in the future.
Cayetano even considered the BBC documentary as “more worthy of tabloid journalism 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,” Cayetano said, noting that it fails to mention that the strategy is a diversified and community-based approach that includes enforcement, rehabilitation, and reintegration.
The country’s top diplomat lamented that the BBC documentary also made 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.
“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 said.
“If BBC did its homework, it would have known that as of 31 August 2018, we have 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,” Cayetano added.
On the other hand, the BBC report projected 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,” Cayetano said.
The Foreign Affairs Secretary also debunked claims that the media in the Philippines is being persecuted.
“Freedom of the press is important to the health of any democracy. Those who read our newspapers, watch our television programs, listen to our radio broadcasts, take part in dialogue through social media, and read online publications [including Rappler, which like other media outlets, can freely publish and criticize the policies of the Duterte administration] can observe that the press is anything but inhibited in the Philippines,” he pointed out.
Cayetano also lamented that the BBC report completely ignored the fact that President Duterte continues to enjoy the trust and support of the people.
“We are taking control of our economic future, making our society safer and healthier, and advancing the interests of Filipinos abroad,” he insisted.
In fact, he said, seven out of 10 Filipinos trust President Duterte and three out of four approve his performance, according to the latest Pulse Asia poll released on Sept. 25.
He cited a Social Weather Station survey released on Sept. 29 indicating that the President Duterte’s satisfaction rating went up to 70 percent. Another SWS survey that was also released last month showed that 78 percent of Filipinos were satisfied with the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.
“In the interest of fair and objective reporting, therefore, we urge 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,” he said.
“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,” country’s top diplomat said.