Cayetano told: Name names on ‘scripted interviews’

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano should identify which radio stations are conducting scripted interviews, the head of the National Press Club (NPC) said yesterday.

NPC president Leonel Abasola is seeking clarification from Cayetano, pointing out that the senator’s statement would impact the credibility of mainstream media.

“I urge the veteran Senator to identify and prove his allegation. Shotgun statements might destroy reputations of respectable media practitioners who are not even privy of their argument,” Abasola, who has long covered the Senate beat, said in a statement.

The issue stemmed from a heated exchange between Cayetano and Sen. Nancy Binay on July 3 during a hearing of the Senate committee on accounts, chaired by Cayetano, on issues surrounding the new Senate building.

Binay used to be the chairperson of the committee but resigned after a change of Senate leadership.

During the hearing, Cayetano asserted that the camp of Binay may have sent advance questions since a number of the radio stations have the same questions.

But Binay maintained she knew nothing about what Cayetano was insinuating.

The intense exchange was about the alleged significant increase in costs of the new Senate building in Taguig.

Binay maintained that there was no irregularity when she was supervising the construction of the NSB. She walked out from the hearing.

Abasola likewise noted that it was the first time that he heard an honorable lawmaker calling a female colleague as “buang” (crazy) and “Marites” (rumormonger) during a public hearing, which he tagged as ungentlemanly.

What transpired in the committee hearing, he further noted, was a behavior uncalled for a statesman like Cayetano.

“He could’ve called for a temporary suspension of the hearing to diffuse the tension,” Abasola said.

As for the media, Cayetano should identify them because many of the Senate media also have their own radio programs, he added.

Abasola further noted that it is only natural that there are instances where reporters would ask the same questions on “hot issues” involving public funds.

Although Cayetano had already issued an apology to journalists covering the Senate beat, Abasola insists the lawmaker must prove his accusations and drop the names of the “radio anchors” who were supposedly paid off to field scripted questions on air.

It was not the first time that Cayetano accused journalists of being paid off to report unfavorable news.

In 2019, then House speaker Cayetano alleged that members of the media had been bribed to spread disinformation about the Philippines’ hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

He later retracted this claim and said only anonymous websites spread false content to “sabotage” the games.