Mariing inalmahan ni Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Sec. Martin Andanar ang naging pahayag ni Rappler CEO Maria Ressa sa Los Ageles Times opinion piece laban sa Duterte administration.
Sinabi ni Sec. Andanar, nakakalungkot dahil nananatiling “out of touch” si Ressa sa mga political realities na nangyayari sa Pilipinas.
Ayon kay Sec. Andanar, walang katotohanan ang gustong palabasin ni Ressa na nanalo si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa eleksyon sa pamamagitan ng kasinungalingan at fake propaganda gayung malinaw na “fair and square’ ang panalo ng pangulo.
“It is tragic that Ms. Ressa remains out of touch with the political realities on the ground as she continues to insinuate that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte won through lies and fake propaganda as she claims that ‘lies laced with anger and hate began to systematically tear our democracy apart in the Philippines,’ and that ‘Like a virus, this disease spread fast. With the help of social media, President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in May 2016,” ani Sec. Andanar.
Naniniwala si Sec. Andanar na ayaw lang tanggapin ni Ressa na si Pangulong Duterte ang gusto at kailangan ng mga mamamayan.
“The people hoped for an action man who can bring positive change to their lives and the Filipino people got what they wanted and truly wanted. His style of governance, albeit unorthodox, resonates with the people. This is not democracy being torn apart but rather democracy naturally playing out,” dagdag ni Sec. Andanar.
Kasabay nito, inisa-isa ni Sec. Andanar ang mga achievements ni Pangulong Duterte sa kanyang pamamahala kabilang na ang 80 percent high satisfaction rating at 85 percent approval and trust rating mula sa dalawang survey firms, gayundin ang 84 percent satisfactory rating ng mga Pilipino sa umiiral na demokrasya sa bansa sa third quarter ng 2018.
Iginiit ng kalihim na ito ang nagpapasinungaling sa claim ni Ressa na pagkasira ng demokrasya sa Pilipinas.
“Again, Ms. Ressa continues to cite the baseless number of “27,000” drug addicts that were allegedly killed, which is actually the total homicide cases including cases not related to the drug war. Sticking to the hard facts that came from our law enforcement agencies, the number of unfortunate deaths from legitimate police operations are only 5,526. The government reiterates that this anti-illegal drug campaign is backed by the public. In the second quarter, 82% of adult Filipinos are satisfied with this campaign according to another Social Weather Stations survey,” paglalahad pa ni Sec. Andanar.
