Villafuerte denies suppressing news article

MANILA, Philippines — Embattled Rep. LRay Villafuerte defended himself from a student organization’s accusations that he censored their survey, saying he is “a press freedom advocate” who also has the right to question published reports.

“In keeping with my advocacy for upholding press freedom and the independence of campus journalism, I recognize the right of student publications to report on developments, including the outcome of local surveys that are conducted with the proper methodology,” Villafuerte said.

The Camarines Sur second district congressman made the remarks in reaction to the controversy created by The Spark, the student organ of the Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges (CSPC), whose publication of the informal survey was reportedly taken down arbitrarily.

According to the poll conducted among students, Villafuerte was trailing behind in the gubernatorial race – a result he branded as fake news, saying this ran counter to all pre-election surveys conducted by reputable professional pollsters.

“While I acknowledge such rights of professional and campus journalists, I also have the right to question certain reportage or the presentation of news, such as on the outcome of locally done opinion polling. I certainly hope that they would similarly recognize my right to respond to such reports, particularly those that concern me and my family,” Villafuerte said.

“I am simply wondering why certain quarters have tried to blow this issue out of proportion by branding as an attack on press freedom my right to express concern over the authenticity of the survey,” he added.

In a statement, Villafuerte clarified that he “never contacted anybody in the CSPC administration to take down the report in The Spark.”

“My concern is about the accuracy of the methodology used in the polling and my fear that the students behind this undertaking – young and guileless as they are – could have unwittingly been used by or fallen prey to certain quarters with insidious political agendas,” he said.