Anderson to Korina: Come to Tacloban, see for yourself

MANILA, Philippines - CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper has urged ABS-CBN newscaster Korina Sanchez to come to Tacloban City to see the situation on the ground as the American broadcast journalist maintained that his reports about the typhoon-ravaged city were accurate.

In a broadcast from Manila yesterday, Cooper said his coverage of the effects of Typhoon Yolanda has become something political.

“Ms. Sanchez is welcome to go there and I would urge her to go there. I don’t know if she has but her husband’s the interior minister. I’m sure he can arrange a flight,” Cooper said, referring to Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II.

Cooper was reacting to comments by Sanchez, who criticized him for supposedly reporting inaccurately about the situation in Tacloban.

Early this week, Cooper described the situation in Tacloban as “miserable” and “very very bad.”

“People are desperate. People do not have any place for shelter. It’s very difficult for people to get food,” Cooper said

“It is a very desperate situation, among the most desperate I’ve seen in covering disasters in the last couple of years,” he added.

Cooper also remarked that, “the people in Tacloban have great dignity and deserve better than what they have gotten.”

“As for who exactly is in charge of the Philippine side of this operation, that is not really clear,” he said.

In her dzMM radio program, Sanchez said Cooper was not aware of what he was talking about.

Several viewers and Internet users have criticized Sanchez for her comment, saying it constituted conflict of interest since her husband is involved in the relief operations.

Roxas is one of the four vice chairpersons of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Most of the comments in the Internet about the issue were supportive of Cooper, with some saying that they find someone on the ground more reliable than one who is reporting from an air-conditioned studio.

Cooper said CNN cares about accuracy and delivering information that could help ensure efficient relief efforts.

He said his reports have also shown the strength of the Filipinos who were affected by the disaster. With Paolo Romero