MALOLOS CITY— The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Bulacan chapter has issued a statement calling all politicians to stop accusing them as paid hacks.
The media group also reminded local leaders that journalists are only doing their jobs without bias.
“Don’t be petty and don’t expect any news blackout. It is our job to inform the people and they have the right to know,” said the statement.
Politicians were also reminded that the journalists’ job, as a watchdog, is by nature adversarial to the government.
The statement stemmed from grave coercion and slander charges filed by Bulacan-based journalists Emil Gamos of the Journal Group of Publication, MetroNEWS-Bulacan, and Philippine News Agency (PNA), and Orlan Mauricio of RPN-NEWS9 against Vice Gov. Wilhelmino M. SyAlvarado.
Gamos and Mauricio said that SyAlvarado accused them as paid hacks of his rival politicians after Gamos’ story appeared on Peoples Tonight last March. The story said the vice governor and his wife Rep. Marivic Alvarado owe the Bulacan State University (BSU) more than P7,000,000 in unpaid tuition fees.
The article was based on a report from the Commission on Audit (COA), of which a copy was secured by Mauricio.
The journalists said they tried to get the side of SyAlvarado on the story through text messaging, but get not reply.
SyAlvarado on the other hand said he received no text message from Mauricio inquiring about the story.
Days later, Rommel Ramos of Central Luzon TV 36 received a telephone call from SyAlvarado saying “bakit pinalalaki mo pa ang istorya.”
Ramos said that Alvarado was referring to the story that was broadcast by CLTV 36.
According to NUJP-Bulacan, such incidents happened to many other local journalists before as politicians and local police officials in the province apparently made it a habit to accuse local journalists as paid hacks of their rival politicians when news stories written or broadcast do not favor them.
“Such accusations are products of narrow understanding of what the media is all about and utter disregard to what Gat Marcelo H. Del Pilar, the great Bulakenyo propagandist and the acknowledged father of Philippine journalism once said, ‘hindi nabubusalan ang katotohanan,’” the NUJP-Bulacan said.
In a recent meeting, the NUJP-Bulacan resolved “to remind politicians and other local officials in the province that as journalists, we only report news stories, we don’t manufacture them.”
“If there is a bias on our news story, it is only for the truth, because journalists can only be biased for the truth,” the statement added.
They also resolved to remind other local journalists to do their job extra-ordinarily well saying “we must re-commit ourselves to journalism that is accurate, balanced, in context, detached, ethical, fair, good, honest and with integrity.”
The media group also reminded local leaders that journalists are only doing their jobs without bias.
“Don’t be petty and don’t expect any news blackout. It is our job to inform the people and they have the right to know,” said the statement.
Politicians were also reminded that the journalists’ job, as a watchdog, is by nature adversarial to the government.
The statement stemmed from grave coercion and slander charges filed by Bulacan-based journalists Emil Gamos of the Journal Group of Publication, MetroNEWS-Bulacan, and Philippine News Agency (PNA), and Orlan Mauricio of RPN-NEWS9 against Vice Gov. Wilhelmino M. SyAlvarado.
Gamos and Mauricio said that SyAlvarado accused them as paid hacks of his rival politicians after Gamos’ story appeared on Peoples Tonight last March. The story said the vice governor and his wife Rep. Marivic Alvarado owe the Bulacan State University (BSU) more than P7,000,000 in unpaid tuition fees.
The article was based on a report from the Commission on Audit (COA), of which a copy was secured by Mauricio.
The journalists said they tried to get the side of SyAlvarado on the story through text messaging, but get not reply.
SyAlvarado on the other hand said he received no text message from Mauricio inquiring about the story.
Days later, Rommel Ramos of Central Luzon TV 36 received a telephone call from SyAlvarado saying “bakit pinalalaki mo pa ang istorya.”
Ramos said that Alvarado was referring to the story that was broadcast by CLTV 36.
According to NUJP-Bulacan, such incidents happened to many other local journalists before as politicians and local police officials in the province apparently made it a habit to accuse local journalists as paid hacks of their rival politicians when news stories written or broadcast do not favor them.
“Such accusations are products of narrow understanding of what the media is all about and utter disregard to what Gat Marcelo H. Del Pilar, the great Bulakenyo propagandist and the acknowledged father of Philippine journalism once said, ‘hindi nabubusalan ang katotohanan,’” the NUJP-Bulacan said.
In a recent meeting, the NUJP-Bulacan resolved “to remind politicians and other local officials in the province that as journalists, we only report news stories, we don’t manufacture them.”
“If there is a bias on our news story, it is only for the truth, because journalists can only be biased for the truth,” the statement added.
They also resolved to remind other local journalists to do their job extra-ordinarily well saying “we must re-commit ourselves to journalism that is accurate, balanced, in context, detached, ethical, fair, good, honest and with integrity.”
