(Eagle News)–Presidential Communications Operations Office chief Martin Andanar has slammed Rappler’s Maria Ressa for saying there was “destruction of democracy” in the Philippines.
In a statement, Andanar said “Ms. Ressa remains out of touch with the political realities on the ground as she continues to insinuate that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte won through lies and fake propaganda..” in an opinion piece published on the Los Angeles Times.
According to Andanar, Duterte won “fair and square” with the largest electoral margin in Philippine history.
He slammed Ressa’s comment “lies laced with anger and hate began to systematically tear our democracy apart in the Philippines,” and that “Like a virus, this disease spread fast,” saying she has merely refused to accept that Duterte “is what the people truly wanted and needed.”
He said the results of independent surveys showing an 80% high satisfaction rating and 85% approval and trust rating in Duterte, and an 84% satisfactory rating of Filipinos with democracy in the country in the third quarter of 2018 debunk what Ressa has said.
“This is not democracy being torn apart but rather democracy naturally playing out,” Andanar said, noting that Ressa has merely refused to accept Duterte “is what the people truly wanted and needed.”
“The people hoped for an action man who can bring positive change to their lives and the Filipino people got what they wanted and truly wanted. His style of governance, albeit unorthodox, resonates with the people,” Andanar said.
Andanar also slammed Ressa’s allegations against the drug war, noting that 5,526 drug suspects were killed and not 27,000 as claimed by Ressa.
He added the drug war is popular among Filipinos, as shown by the 82% satisfactory rating based on a Social Weather Stations survey in the second quarter of 2019.
Andanar also slammed Ressa’s allegations activists and news organizations face top-down persecution by the government as “baseless and absurd.”
Andanar noted that despite “hurling criticisms against news organizations that carry fake news about his administration, the Chief Executive still signed his very first administrative order as Chief Executive creating an inter-agency body tasked to protect members of the press.”
He added Duterte also recently signed Republic Act 11458, which expands the coverage of exemptions from revealing the source of published news or information obtained in confidence.
“It is not the policy and practice of the current government to ‘harass’ dissenters, as we only present our side of the story,” Andanar said.
“The national government will keep on telling the truth, and we remain confident the people themselves will tell President Duterte’s true legacy,” he added.
https://www.eaglenews.ph/andanar-slams-ressa-for-saying-democracy-failing-in-phl/?fbclid=IwAR3Ce7C79UZkWqYuVe-B22BPxuXrCWGOSCPmEp_bN7IgKESgxd3mAOK80mM
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