Marcoleta’s attack on media ‘dangerous, irresponsible, reckless’ – Senate reporters

MANILA, Philippines – Journalists covering the Senate slammed Senator Rodante Marcoleta for accusing them of receiving bribes and failing to question the move of the “new majority” led by Acting Sepate president Sherwin Gatchalian to cancel a hearing on the flood control corruption scandal.

Marcoleta said this during a blue ribbon committee hearing on Thursday, June 4, a day Senator Erwin Tulfo was tapped to chair the anti-corruption panel in a Senate shakeup. (READ: Post-Senate shakeup sees two sides still battling for control)

Tulfo had issued a notice for the cancellation of the Thursday’s hearing, and scheduled it for Monday, June 8, instead, but the blue ribbon committee’s previous chair, Senator Pia Cayetano, pushed through with the probe.

Journalists did, however, question Gatchalian on whether there were any attempts to stop the Senate probe, which Gatchalian denied, citing the scheduled June 8 probe. This can be verified in the committee schedules posted on the Senate website.

Read the Senate reporters’ statement in full.

We, the members of the Senate media, condemn in the strongest possible sense the sweeping claim by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta that many members of the mainstream media are nothing more than paid hacks.

Such remark of the senator during Thursday’s Senate blue ribbon proceedings was not only irresponsible, but a reckless attack on an institution widely acknowledged as essential to any functioning democracy.

Marcoleta’s statement unfairly maligned media workers who risk intimidation, harassment and even their lives to inform the public and hold the powerful accountable.

At a time when disinformation and political polarization continue to undermine public discourse, government officials should exercise greater restraint and responsibility in their pronouncements. 

Marcoleta’s accusations against the press, if not supported by evidence, erode public trust in legitimate journalism and contribute to a climate of hostility against media practitioners simply doing their jobs.

The role of journalists is not to serve politicians, political parties or competing factions in the country’s endless political battles. 

The Fourth Estate exists to serve the public interest. Its duty is to pursue facts, verify information, question those in power and report developments without fear or favor. 

That mission becomes even more critical during periods of intense political conflict.

Journalists should never be dragged into the rivalries, feuds, or power struggles of political figures. The media is not a weapon to be wielded by one camp against another, nor should it be treated as collateral damage in political warfare. 

Attempts to paint the press as partisan simply because it reports uncomfortable facts are both unfair and dangerous.

A free press can only perform its constitutional role when it is allowed to operate independently- free from pressure, threats, intimidation, or political coercion from any side. 

Whether the pressure comes from those in government, those seeking power or those fighting to retain it, journalists must remain free to report the truth wherever the facts may lead.

Criticism of media coverage is fair and even healthy in a democratic society. But there is a profound difference between constructive criticism and the wholesale vilification of an entire profession.

Public officials, such as Marcoleta, who make serious allegations against journalists have a responsibility to present evidence instead of just relying on inflammatory rhetoric that undermines democratic institutions.

Again, the press is not the enemy of any political faction. It is not an extension of any political machinery. Its allegiance must remain solely to the truth and to the public it serves. 

Journalists deserve neither blind praise nor baseless condemnation, but they do deserve the freedom to report without being branded, bullied or sacrificed in the political battles of others.  – Rappler.com