The latest flypaper “issue” currently keeping Yellowtards’ mouths flapping is a video featuring a spat between CNN tele-“journalist” Pinky Webb and Malacanang spokesman Harry Roque who she was interviewing. Webb was eliciting a reaction from Roque to a tweet fielded by University of the Philippines (UP) “journalism” professor Danilo Arao where he issues a challenge to all “top-level officials” of the government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to “denounce” the junking by the Department of National Defense (DND) of a 1989 “accord” with the UP banning the Philippine military from its campuses.
Evidently, Arao’s challenge is a cleverly-worded coercion that really does not merit a serious response to begin with as it already carries with it an inherent presumption that anyone responding to it with a refusal to “denounce” the DND would lack “honor and excellence”. But that is exactly what Webb was demanding that Roque do.
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At 10:22 of the above video, Webb, after reading Arao’s tweet out loud, asks Roque, “Let me ask you, sir, are you denouncing this letter by [DND] Secretary [Delfin] Lorenzana as a [former] UP student and as a former UP professor? Are you denouncing it?”. Roque responded saying “I am asking the DND secretary and the president of UP to sit down and I’ve offered my good offices to facilitate this meeting…”.
Roque, evidently did not answer Webb’s question. But then who is Arao anyway that would compel the presidential spokesman to answer what is clearly a dishonest question — one that Webb personally asked Roque herself? Recall that Webb started her question with “Let me ask you sir” (emphasis of the word “me” is mine). After a commercial break, Roque proceeded to assert that he was under no obligation to make a personal statement — much more a “denunciation” — under pressure from anyone, not from Webb and certainly not from Arao.
Webb clarified saying that “it was a tweet that I read and I asked for your reaction if you would denounce it”. Clearly Pinky Webb lies here. She earlier personally asked Roque the same question Arao asked. She did not request Roque’s reaction to Arao’s tweet. She personally relayed Arao’s dishonest question to the presidential spokesman. Roque rightly calls out Webb, “you wanted me to answer Danny Arao,” and he asks her “Why should I?”
Webb was clearly caught lying to Harry Roque, spokesman of the Philippine President, on national television. She took editorial liberties by going beyond quoting the tweet of some two-bit “journalism” professor and owned the question she asked Roque but later, when taken to task for running with what was clearly a dishonest question, lied in saying that she merely sought to request Roque’s reaction to said tweet.
Dishonest journalism.
Next time we wonder why Big Corporate Media had lost all credibility and are no longer seen to be bastions of truth and fairness, right here is a brilliant case in point. We have Pinky Webb and her dishonesty to thank for this excellent insight into the depths to which broadcast news have sunk.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
“You have the right to remain silent….” You don’t have to be forced to answer questions, if you want not to answer anybody’s questions.
The above comment is more honest than what’s being asserted in the article, that Pinky Webb is being dishonest for asking Harry Roque a certain question. Just as GRP, an opinion blogsite that cannot be told by anyone to write about something it does not want to (it declares “We write what we write!”), Webb, being the host of her own program, also has the right to ask questions of her own choosing.
When Roque voluntary submitted himself for the interview, he allowed himself to be asked whatever questions that will come his way. Unless, of course, there are pre-conditions set by the subject party involved. He only has the right to answer or not to answer accordingly as he wishes. Presumably, he’s trying to copy Duterte but failed. Roque, an ex-yellowtard, is an unprofessional brat, who, as always, seeks entitlement.
How will a Philippine government official like Roque react if he’s at the receiving end by the hard-hitting style of questioning by the likes of HARDTalk’s Stephen Shakur and he happens to dislike the question?
Harry Roque could have responded any way he wanted without the attitude. Media men and women are expected to ask loaded questions. He just gave the yellowtards more reason to target the administration officials, although this one was petty. Maybe Roque was having a bad hair day. It was just unfortunate for Webb to be in the way.
Harry Roque’s Intermittent explosive disorder reminds me of another incident with another CNN personality. Roque had berated CNN Philippines correspondent Triciah Terada live on national TV and accused her of publishing inaccurate information in an article which it turns out to be she didn’t even write. He did not publicly apologize to Ms. Terada.