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Monday, April 05, 2004
Iloilo media score FPJ for outburst
By Nanette L. Guadalquiver
* NUJP-Iloilo demands that presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. publicly apologize to GMA 7 reporter Sandra Aguinaldo
* Iloilo Press Club Inc. says Poe's action is uncalled for and a disrespect and insult of the press, which should never be tolerated
MEDIA groups in Iloilo condemned opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. for berating a television reporter before the public during his rally in Tigbauan, Iloilo Thursday night.
The National Union of Journalist of the Philippines (NUJP) Iloilo and Iloilo Press Club (IPC) Inc. issued separate statements expressing support to GMA 7 reporter Sandra Aguinaldo who was admonished by Poe for supposedly "stealing" the scene from him while he was delivering his campaign speech.
"We sympathize with our colleague Ms Sandra Aguinaldo as she became another victim of the widely-talked about temper tantrum of Poe. We condemn Poe's acts as unbecoming of a person seeking the highest office," NUJP-Iloilo said in its statement.
According to NUJP-Iloilo, represented by Ma. Diosa Labiste and Nestor Burgos Jr., the incident at Tigbauan, when Poe was irked by Aguinaldo's attempt to deliver an on-the-scene report, was witnessed by members of media from Manila as well as by Iloilo-based journalists.
Poe was addressing the crowd from a makeshift stage when Aguinaldo positioned herself behind him to deliver a "stand-upper" for her report.
Apparently distracted by Aguinaldo's presence, Poe stopped talking and shoved the microphone to the reporter, who was taken aback by Poe's display of anger.
Aguinaldo said she did not intend to interview Poe neither she tried to disrupt his speech.
NUJP-Iloilo said that "despite Aguinaldo's explanation, Poe was not consoled. He even slammed his fist on the plywood backstage, in a raw display of fury complete with expletives."
"We also criticize the stance of Poe's running mate, Sen. Loren Legarda, and campaign manager, Sen. Vicente Sotto III, who both demanded that Aguinaldo should apologize to Poe to "get it over with," they added. "As a former television reporter, Legarda should have known better."
Television footages have shown a visibly shaken Aguinaldo, to the point that she was in tears, they said.
"Media's role this election season is to provide citizens with access to facts, opinions and insights into the character of the candidates who are seeking public office. In the course of doing such daunting, if not thankless task, members of media try to cope with pressures and limitations of their job, not to mention professional ethics that guide them in their work," NUJP-Iloilo further said. "As many veterans of political coverage said, there is no test of professionalism greater than that posed in the heat and pressure of election coverage."
They added: "It is in this light that we criticize Poe for his treatment of Aguinaldo. We demand that Poe should publicly apologize to her. We hope that the April 1 incident would be the last of the ill-treatment that journalists experienced while on the campaign trail."
Ignoble Act
For its part, the Iloilo Press Club Inc., the oldest press club in the Philippines, said, "It is very unfortunate that such ignoble act happened in Iloilo, the birthplace of press freedom pioneer Graciano Lopez Jaena."
"(What) FPJ (did) was uncalled for and very unbecoming considering that she (Aguinaldo) was only doing her duty to the public," the IPC said.
They added: "Such disrespect and insult of the press should never be tolerated as this might send a wrong signal that we can be shabbily treated by anyone at any time."
IPC's statement was signed by its officers headed by officer-in-charge Erly Garcia.
(April 3, 2004 issue)
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