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- GMA Network’s Joseph Morong corrected Roque by reading to him the exact transcript of his statement which was uploaded on the PCOO’s official website.
- CNN Philippines released statements saying that Roque owes them and the reporter an apology.
Celebrities, journalists, and netizens called out Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque for scolding a reporter during a media briefing on May 19. He claimed that her report regarding a statement he made before was inaccurate.
Roque proceeded to cast aspersions on the reporter in a setting where she couldn’t defend herself and he then reprimanded her for something she didn’t write.
Journalists then called out the spokesperson for publicly humiliating CNN Philippines reporter Triciah Terada.
“If he had a problem with her report yesterday, he should call the attention of CNN Philippines immediately AFTER the report was aired,” Danilo Arao tweeted.
JOURNALISM 101: Roque crosses the line in publicly humiliating @CNNPhilippines reporter @TriciahTerada. If he had a problem with her report yesterday, he should called the attention of CNN Philippines immediately AFTER the report was aired. So unprofessional of him!
— Danilo Arao (@dannyarao) May 19, 2020
Terada replied saying that the incident is not something that should happen to anyone but it is the “price” that comes with their work.
She also clarified that she was not the one that tweeted, published, or aired the said report.
Thank you, Prof. Arao. I agree w/ your points, sir. This should not happen to anyone, but maybe this is also the price that comes w/ our work. But to set the record straight, I DID NOT tweet, publish/air an erroneous report. In fact, I wasn't even part of our newscast yesterday.
— Trish Terada (@TriciahTerada) May 19, 2020
GMA Network reporter Joseph Morong then defended Terada by directly reading a transcript of what Roque said the day before.
Gabbi Garcia then retweeted a tweet of a netizen praising Morong’s action on the incident.
🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 @Joseph_Morong https://t.co/mahfjTpVaq
— Gabbi Garcia ♡ (@gabbi) May 19, 2020
Melissa Luz Lopez also posted a screenshot of the transcript of Roque’s official statement which was uploaded on the Presidential Communications Operations Office’s official website.
Sec. Roque is now using the "taken out of context" card for the no mass testing story. Here's a full transcript from the PCOO website:
Link – https://t.co/5V55ftW4pi pic.twitter.com/zefXbfKGZ0
— Melissa Luz Lopez (@meltlopez) May 19, 2020
Other journalists and celebrities also shared their frustrations regarding Roque’s actions.
https://twitter.com/vance_larena/status/1262685577339527169
https://twitter.com/scrtsjrm/status/1262615801061752832
“Journalists can’t simply sit quietly and watch while a colleague is insulted and attacked at a presscon.”
Journalists can't simply sit quietly and watch while a colleague is insulted and attacked at a presscon. That is ritual degradation. Stand up to bullies and put them in their place.
— Jamela Alindogan (@jamelaaisha) May 19, 2020
People also poked fun at the spokesperson’s sudden change of attitude when he was being interviewed by Morong.
'Yung nagpapabebe ka kay Joseph Morong saying I'm more relaxed now chururut tas biglang pinarinig sa 'yo ang sinabi mo tungkol sa mass testing at para kang sinupalpal ng crush mo.
— Jerry B. Grácio (@JerryGracio) May 19, 2020
CNN Philippines also released a statement clearing Terada’s name and saying that Roque owes the network and the reporter an apology.
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines: Officials who earn public ire for their pronouncements should not blame journalists who are merely doing their jobs. pic.twitter.com/DlnouLkcwV
— News Watch Plus PH (@newswatchplusph) May 19, 2020
They also stated that they stand by the story that they published the day before.
CNN Philippines stands by the story we published on Monday, May 18, with the headline "Up to private sector to carry out mass testing, Roque says amid limited testing capacity." pic.twitter.com/oB2q5kDOYK
— News Watch Plus PH (@newswatchplusph) May 19, 2020
Roque said that the government has not passed the responsibility to the private sector and added that the right term is “expanded target testing” and not “mass testing.”
Just this afternoon, during a live virtual press briefing, Roque offered a “peace” and “finger heart” sign to a CNN Philippines reporter.
Harry Roque to @TriciahTerada with his peace sign and finger heart HAHAHAHAHAHA funny🤣 pic.twitter.com/hEvTuCpl9N
— Cuídate (@orlanfrane) May 21, 2020
