PCIJ: Martires interview recorded openly at public forum

MANILA, Philippines — The interview that Ombudsman Samuel Martires denies giving Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism executive director Malou Mangahas was done at a public forum and was recorded openly, PCIJ said Wednesday night.

Martires earlier Wednesday accused Mangahas of violating the Anti-Wiretapping Law for allegedly recording their conversation when the journalist supposedly did not ask for permission to do so.

PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas responds to the statement of Ombudsman Samuel Martires on the former's request for President Rodrigo Duterte's SALN for 2018. | @patriciaviray pic.twitter.com/ukOdWzKrWZ

— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) December 18, 2019

"Ombudsman Martires knew that as a public official with expertise and mandate on the issues raised, he was speaking face to face with a journalist with a legitimate journalistic purpose, on a matter of public interest," PCIJ said Wednesday night.

"The conversation occurred in a public space and even with the full knowledge and in full view of his own personnel from the Office of the Ombudsman," it also said.

READ: Ombudsman decries 'wiretapping' by PCIJ, mum on Duterte SALN release

International Anti-Corruption Day forum

Martires, on Wednesday afternoon, said he was coming from a "health break" during an event at Diamond Hotel in Manila on December 9 when Mangahas approached him and identified herself as a GMA reporter, adding he was surprised that the story on President Rodrigo Duterte's unreleased Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth for 2018 came out on PCIJ.

Martires implied that this was unethical behavior, but PCIJ said "the interview transpired with Malou, after she dutifully introduced herself as a journalist from GMA and PCIJ. "

"The second part of the introduction (PCIJ) was not audible perhaps to Ombudsman Martires because he promptly butted in and said, 'O, Malou, kilala kita.'," PCIJ also said.

The PCIJ story quoted Martires as saying he is unsure of the Office of the Ombudsman's authority to release the president's SALN and that PCIJ should just get it from the Office of the President and the Office of the Executive Secretary.

The Palace has said that Duterte had fulfilled his constitutional duty to disclose his wealth by filing the SALN and is not required to make it public.

RELATED: Fact check: Secrecy around SALNs not exclusive to Duterte administration

Mangahas was at the Diamond Hotel for a public forum that the Office of the Ombudsman's Public Information and Media Relations Bureau had invited her to, PCIJ said. She also registered as a journalist from PCIJ on the forum's attendance sheet.

"Stories from the public forum were published that day by several newspapers and news websites. If the press was invited to the public forum by a public agency, there was no real problem if journalists from PCIJ would also attend it," PCIJ said.

READ: Duterte’s secret SALN: The lie of his FOI

Mangahas had wanted to ask Martires about PCIJ's request for a copy of Duterte's SALN and had been advised to ask about it at an open forum during the event.

"Malou told [Atty Mary Rawnsle Lopez of the PIRMB] that it would be better to just raise the questions during a break in the forum, outside the conference hall to avoid any uncomfortable public conversation on the floor with Ombudsman Martires."

PCIJ pointed out that "Malou was holding her phone to record the interview, in full view of both Ombudsman Martires and Atty. Rawnsie Lopez" and that Martires "was well aware that what transpired was a proper interview, a public conversation between a journalist and a public official, on a matter of public concern."

Repeated requests for sit-down interview 

PCIJ said it while it respects Martires' views on the matter, "all he has to do now is release President Duterte's SALN for 2018, pending the long-awaited issuance of his new guidelines, and consistent with the mandate of the Office of the Ombudsman as 'the Protector of the People.'"

It said it had filed "several written requests" and made "multiple phone calls" to the Office of the Ombudsman regarding its request for Duterte's SALN for 2018. The first request was sent in June.

Mangahas had also repeatedly called Martires' office to schedule a sit-down interview with him and had been told to try again since he was out of the office. Despite the calls "no fixed schedule could reportedly be set as yet until it was already November 2019." — Jonathan de Santos