COMMUNICATIONS Secretary Martin Andanar on Monday toned down his offensive pronouncement that Senate reporters allegedly received $1,000 to cover the press conference of former Davao policeman Arturo Lascañas.
A former television reporter, Andanar said he has high regard with his former colleagues in the media.
“As a long-time broadcast journalist, I hold our former colleagues in the media in the highest esteem as we forge in our commitment to serve the public through the dissemination of factual information,” Andanar said in a statement.
Andanar’s statement came after Senate reporters released a statement on the former's “unsubstantiated and irresponsible” claims that they were given as much as $1,000 each to cover the press conference of Lascañas, who confessed that the so-called Davao Death Squad exists.
In a consolidated statement, the journalists from the Senate belied Andanar’s pronouncement.
“We, broadcast, online, and print journalists covering the Senate strongly protest the unsubstantiated and irresponsible claims made by Press Secretary Martin Andanar,” the statement read.
“To our knowledge, no such incident occurred. Such practice is not tolerated among Senate reporters,” it added.
Andanar, however, said that while there may have been monetary offer “to attract coverage of the press conference at the Senate, no member of our working press was alluded to as a recipient.”
In an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines, Andanar claimed that a “source” had told him that reporters have been offered money to grace the press briefing.
Andanar, however, did not mention the names of reporters who allegedly received such bribe. He also could not categorically implicate Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who organized the press conference, in the supposed money offering to reporters.
“We have received reports that as much as $1,000 have been given for this (Lascañas’s) presscon. I would not name my source but there were people who have been given such huge amount to cover this,” Andanar was quoted as saying.
Trillanes also vehemently denied that he gave money to any of the Senate reporters. (SunStar Philippines)