Incompetent reporting
LOUSY INQUIRER SCRIBE TWISTS
STORY ON DUTERTE 'FRIENDSHIP'
Ito titulo ng post ni Department of Agriculture Emmanuel F. Piñol sa kanyang facebook account ukol sa isang article sa Inquirer.net. Ang nasabing article na pinamagatang "Piñol Crafts Masaganang Ani Project" na sulat ng reporter na si Ronnel Domingo ang tinutukoy ng secretary.
Hindi umano katanggap tanggap na ginamit ni Domingo ang salitang "personal friend" upang palabasin na ito umano ang dahilan kung bakit siya confident na mareraapoint muli ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte bilang Agriculture Secretary.
Ito ang unang paragraph sa nasabing article:
Emmanuel F. Piñol said he expected to be reappointed agriculture
secretary after the Commission on Appointments (CA) bypassed him earlier
this month, saying that his “personal friend” President Duterte told
him so.
Narito ang Buong statement ni Sec. Piñol.
Incompetent reporting
LOUSY INQUIRER SCRIBE TWISTS
STORY ON DUTERTE 'FRIENDSHIP'
By Manny Piñol
As a former professional journalist, I have always respected the
editorial independence of media outfits covering the Department of
Agriculture which I now head as Secretary-designate.
I consider myself "fair game" to the media being a public official who must be transparent and accountable to the public.
But early today, a story which was posted on Inquirer.Net
which I understand is the main story of the Business Page of the
Philippine Daily Inquirer, really got to my nerve because of how it was
slanted by reporter Ronnel Domingo.
"Emmanuel F. Piñol said he
expected to be reappointed agriculture secretary after the Commission on
Appointments (CA) bypassed him earlier this month, saying that his
“personal friend” President Duterte told him so."
This was the
lead paragraph of a story "Piñol Crafts Masaganang Ani Project" making
it totally unrelated to the title of the news item.
In fact, the
reference to the Masaganang Ani Project was in the last paragraph of the
five paragraph story and was treated in a "by the way" manner.
"Also, the agriculture chief said he was crafting a new flagship project
dubbed Masaganang Ani 6000, which is aimed at raising the productivity
of one million hectares of irrigated rice farms to 6 tons per hectare
per crop cycle, mainly by providing farmers with inputs like seeds and
irrigation."
What was reprehensible in the way the reporter wrote
the story was his use of the phrase "personal friend" to make it appear
that it was the reason why I was confident of being reappointed by
President Rody Duterte as Agriculture Secretary.
The transcripts
of the press conference yesterday will prove that I used the phrase
"personal friend" to refer to my relationship with President Duterte
when I was talking about corruption in the Department of Agriculture.
I stated during the press conference that I cannot be involved in
corruption not only because it is against the law but mainly because as a
"personal friend" of the President, it would be an act of betrayal of
his friendship.
"I have an added load on my shoulder in the
campaign against corruption in the Department of Agriculture and that is
my personal friendship with the President. I will betray him if I get
involved in corruption," was essentially what I said.
In fact, I
also related during the press conference that I have personally talked
to the other DA officials who are working with me now that "we should
live Spartan lives" and be contented with what we receive as salaries.
By misusing the phrase "personal friend" in the context of the
President's assurance that he would reappoint me as Secretary of
Agriculture, Inquirer reporter Ronnel Domingo showed his bias if not
incompetence as a reporter.
A respected paper like the Philippine
Daily Inquirer which pays its reporters and writers well does not
deserve an incompetent and lousy reporter.
The Agriculture beat
is not as exciting as the Police, Congress, Senate or Malacañang beats
and I can understand the lack of focus and importance mainstream media
provide.
But as a major agency of government, I believe the
Agriculture Department deserves to be covered by a writer who
understands agriculture and fisheries, not somebody who spreads gossips
and intrigues.
Minsan lang kayo sumulat tungkol sa Agrikultura, basura pa!
#LousyInquirerReporting!
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