(UPDATED) Online news agency Rappler and Manila Times columnist Rigoberto Tiglao are not in good terms with each other.
This was also published on Rappler X.
The clash between the two started on March when Rappler responded to Tiglao's opinion piece titled "How Rappler misled EU, Human Rights Watch, CNN, Time, BBC — the world."
The Manila Times columnist wrote another piece today, June 21, criticizing an investigative report by Pia Ranada of Rappler.
The Pink Merman quotes Tiglao: "Rappler has demonstrated its anti-Duterte bias through a propaganda trick it has invented that I’d call rapplering. which I bet it will do again and again : Distort data to exaggerate things to paint the Duterte regime black."
Pia Ranada's report compared the government spending in state visits between Duterte and past administrations, limiting the scope from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's presidency (2001-2010), to Benigno Simeon Aquino III (2010-2016).
Narrative
Since Pia Ranada's piece is an investigative report under the Newsbreak section and the nature of Tiglao's works in Manila Times are opinion, code of ethics will not be observed as what was done in the previous review of their first clash.
Ranada's report on expenses, on its first half, can be organized in three salient points:
However, Tiglao claimed simply that:
"This news site ignored among other explanations, that the higher P387 million expenses is due to one simple reason. This President has had 21 voyages abroad in his first 12 months in office in order to quickly expand the country’s global network of supporters and to repair the damage done by his predecessor to our relations with China.
Duterte has had the most such trips among the past five Presidents. Benigno Aquino 3rd in same time frame had 11 foreign trips, his mother, 5."
But Rappler did not dismiss this fact.
The issue here is not the number of foreign trips that Duterte made compared to the previous administrations, but how much they spent for each of these trips.
Ranada presented the cause of this uneconomical weight of expenses: the witless conveyance of delegates.
The President is taking too many big guys with him. Rappler points out that delegates have to join foreign trips if they had to participate in talks or sign agreements.
But there were instances wherein appointed officials had no political or economical contribution to make.
"But this criteria did not apply to other delegation members. For instance, Duterte campaign contributor Dennis Uy, named Presidential Adviser on Sports, was present at the Japan and China visits. No sports deals were signed during these trips.
Presidential Adviser for the Visayas Michael Dino was also in the China state visit, yet no deals specifically for the Visayas were signed."
They also pointed out the enormity of government officials who joined him in his trips, which was unnecessary.
"Duterte also typically brings a gaggle of security officials for trips with defense-related talks or deal-signing, but there is no explanation why so many were needed.
In Singapore, he had with him Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr, Año, Miranda, and Presidential Adviser for Military Affairs Arthur Tabaquero. In Russia, tagging along with him were Lorenzana, Esperon, Año, Dela Rosa, and other senior police officials."
Another concern was each officials' staff members, and those who were not included in the list of delegates but were spotted tagging along (like, Imee Marcos).
Of course, these delegates are entitled to a representation allowance for their visit.
The Pink Merman quotes Pia Ranada:
"There is no apparent effort from Duterte to draw clear lines on who should be part of his delegation to limit its size."
Comments
Tiglao claimed that both Rappler and the Philippine Daily Inquirer's reports emphasized on how "Aquino had been frugal in his spending during his foreign trips." This is not true.
Kristine Angeli Sabillo, writer of "How much do Aquino’s trips abroad cost?"did not editorialize the article into saying that Aquino was thriftier than his predecessor. It was only mentioned that:
The Inquirer refuted by citation the two bullets above.
Ranada on the other hand limited herself into pointing out the efforts of Aquino in his early years as president.
The Pink Merman quotes these instances:
"In the first few years of the Aquino administration, at least, there were efforts to save and keep the official delegation small. This was to set himself apart from his predecessor Arroyo, heavily criticized for her expensive foreign trips."
"While Aquino sometimes took commercial flights, especially during his first years in office, Duterte often took chartered PAL flights for his foreign trips."
"Aquino, to prove he was nothing like Arroyo, allowed expenses to be made public before and after the trips. The total cost of his travels would be announced during Palace press conferences and media interviews, even before the start of the trip."
(READ: Noy to travel with small delegation)
"Rapplering" and Tiglao…ing?
That is the name that TIglao used to identify what he described as a "propaganda trick" of Rappler.
While The Pink Merman suggests that he avoid these accusations as he himself is doing propaganda in support of the government, it must be taken notice that Pia Ranada committed a mistake on her part.
She presumed, or painted the idea, that the President is spending lavishly on unnecessary things, as it was said on the report's lead: "President Rodrigo Duterte projects himself as a man of simple tastes, almost allergic to extravagance and unnecessary expenses. Yet Malacañang records show he spent about triple what his predecessors spent on foreign travels during his first year in power."
Ranada tried to substantialize the spending behavior of the President. The Pink Merman quotes:
"To bolster this image, he has expressed aversion to grand public events, which is why he had his oath-taking in Malacañang.
In the name of resourcefulness and practicality, he has also promised to convert the presidential plane to an air ambulance for soldiers and sell the presidential yacht to get funds for the improvement of military hospitals. Thus far, nothing new has been announced in relation to these promises."
Adjudication
The Writer suggests that Pia Ranada should include how much the delegates have to spend in each country, as expenses may vary given the differences in monetary value. It will be of greater advantage to her if she provides another level of analysis to substantialize her argument.
Without available information as to what particular items were spent in their trip, the Writer believes that the investigative report lacks the support it needs to prove Duterte's extravagance.
But that, of course, is out of her control.
On the other hand, Tiglao's Strawman Fallacy, his black-and-white attitude, and his anecdotal remarks will not leave unnoticed.
Rappler has long justified its position on its presentation of statistics in the President's War on Drugs, yet Tiglao can't get over it and links his previous accusations into the debate.
Moreover, he had the audacity to label the Inquirer as "pro-Aquino" and therefore discredits their statistical report.
Lastly, he emphasized his experience in Malacanang as if it was any better to do so and affirmed that Duterte's accountants "counted all expenses to the last centavo when the President and his party were abroad ," while Arroyo and Aquino's (both of which there were no Freedom of Information at the time) may have "counted only costs of airfare and hotel accommodations."
Though his habit of nitpicking can be entertaining at times, we pray for Tiglao's improvement.
©The Pink Merman
Pacific-Atlantis Mermen Journal
Read the Pink Merman's copyright and other reminders.
This was also published on Rappler X.
The clash between the two started on March when Rappler responded to Tiglao's opinion piece titled "How Rappler misled EU, Human Rights Watch, CNN, Time, BBC — the world."
The Manila Times columnist wrote another piece today, June 21, criticizing an investigative report by Pia Ranada of Rappler.
The Pink Merman quotes Tiglao: "Rappler has demonstrated its anti-Duterte bias through a propaganda trick it has invented that I’d call rapplering. which I bet it will do again and again : Distort data to exaggerate things to paint the Duterte regime black."
Pia Ranada's report compared the government spending in state visits between Duterte and past administrations, limiting the scope from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's presidency (2001-2010), to Benigno Simeon Aquino III (2010-2016).
The problem arises when Tiglao, who is a staunch pro-government columnist, has oversimplified the numbers in Rappler's report to suit his case
Narrative
Since Pia Ranada's piece is an investigative report under the Newsbreak section and the nature of Tiglao's works in Manila Times are opinion, code of ethics will not be observed as what was done in the previous review of their first clash.
 |
| ARROYO, AQUINO, DUTERTE. Photos by Mara Cepeda of Rappler, Malacanang Photo Bureau, and Alecs Ongcal of Rappler |
Ranada's report on expenses, on its first half, can be organized in three salient points:
- the first year in power of Arroyo, Aquino, and Duterte
- two-years worth of travelling between Arroyo, Aquino, and Duterte
- expenses in a single foreign trip between Aquino and Duterte
However, Tiglao claimed simply that:
"This news site ignored among other explanations, that the higher P387 million expenses is due to one simple reason. This President has had 21 voyages abroad in his first 12 months in office in order to quickly expand the country’s global network of supporters and to repair the damage done by his predecessor to our relations with China.
Duterte has had the most such trips among the past five Presidents. Benigno Aquino 3rd in same time frame had 11 foreign trips, his mother, 5."
But Rappler did not dismiss this fact.
The issue here is not the number of foreign trips that Duterte made compared to the previous administrations, but how much they spent for each of these trips.
Ranada presented the cause of this uneconomical weight of expenses: the witless conveyance of delegates.
The President is taking too many big guys with him. Rappler points out that delegates have to join foreign trips if they had to participate in talks or sign agreements.
But there were instances wherein appointed officials had no political or economical contribution to make.
"But this criteria did not apply to other delegation members. For instance, Duterte campaign contributor Dennis Uy, named Presidential Adviser on Sports, was present at the Japan and China visits. No sports deals were signed during these trips.
Presidential Adviser for the Visayas Michael Dino was also in the China state visit, yet no deals specifically for the Visayas were signed."
They also pointed out the enormity of government officials who joined him in his trips, which was unnecessary.
"Duterte also typically brings a gaggle of security officials for trips with defense-related talks or deal-signing, but there is no explanation why so many were needed.
In Singapore, he had with him Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr, Año, Miranda, and Presidential Adviser for Military Affairs Arthur Tabaquero. In Russia, tagging along with him were Lorenzana, Esperon, Año, Dela Rosa, and other senior police officials."
 |
| IMEE MARCOS, MOCHA USON. Photos by LeAnne Jazul and Robert Reyes of Rappler |
Another concern was each officials' staff members, and those who were not included in the list of delegates but were spotted tagging along (like, Imee Marcos).
Of course, these delegates are entitled to a representation allowance for their visit.
The Pink Merman quotes Pia Ranada:
"There is no apparent effort from Duterte to draw clear lines on who should be part of his delegation to limit its size."
Comments
Tiglao claimed that both Rappler and the Philippine Daily Inquirer's reports emphasized on how "Aquino had been frugal in his spending during his foreign trips." This is not true.
Kristine Angeli Sabillo, writer of "How much do Aquino’s trips abroad cost?"did not editorialize the article into saying that Aquino was thriftier than his predecessor. It was only mentioned that:
- Aquino boasted that his travel expenses were cheaper because he travelled and spent less
- Palace officials argued that cost of trip is easily earned through foreign direct investments (FDI)
- Other trips are cheaper as host country paid for some of the expenses
The Inquirer refuted by citation the two bullets above.
Ranada on the other hand limited herself into pointing out the efforts of Aquino in his early years as president.
The Pink Merman quotes these instances:
"In the first few years of the Aquino administration, at least, there were efforts to save and keep the official delegation small. This was to set himself apart from his predecessor Arroyo, heavily criticized for her expensive foreign trips."
"While Aquino sometimes took commercial flights, especially during his first years in office, Duterte often took chartered PAL flights for his foreign trips."
"Aquino, to prove he was nothing like Arroyo, allowed expenses to be made public before and after the trips. The total cost of his travels would be announced during Palace press conferences and media interviews, even before the start of the trip."
(READ: Noy to travel with small delegation)
"Rapplering" and Tiglao…ing?
That is the name that TIglao used to identify what he described as a "propaganda trick" of Rappler.
While The Pink Merman suggests that he avoid these accusations as he himself is doing propaganda in support of the government, it must be taken notice that Pia Ranada committed a mistake on her part.
She presumed, or painted the idea, that the President is spending lavishly on unnecessary things, as it was said on the report's lead: "President Rodrigo Duterte projects himself as a man of simple tastes, almost allergic to extravagance and unnecessary expenses. Yet Malacañang records show he spent about triple what his predecessors spent on foreign travels during his first year in power."
Ranada tried to substantialize the spending behavior of the President. The Pink Merman quotes:
"To bolster this image, he has expressed aversion to grand public events, which is why he had his oath-taking in Malacañang.
In the name of resourcefulness and practicality, he has also promised to convert the presidential plane to an air ambulance for soldiers and sell the presidential yacht to get funds for the improvement of military hospitals. Thus far, nothing new has been announced in relation to these promises."
Adjudication
The Writer suggests that Pia Ranada should include how much the delegates have to spend in each country, as expenses may vary given the differences in monetary value. It will be of greater advantage to her if she provides another level of analysis to substantialize her argument.
Without available information as to what particular items were spent in their trip, the Writer believes that the investigative report lacks the support it needs to prove Duterte's extravagance.
But that, of course, is out of her control.
On the other hand, Tiglao's Strawman Fallacy, his black-and-white attitude, and his anecdotal remarks will not leave unnoticed.
Rappler has long justified its position on its presentation of statistics in the President's War on Drugs, yet Tiglao can't get over it and links his previous accusations into the debate.
Moreover, he had the audacity to label the Inquirer as "pro-Aquino" and therefore discredits their statistical report.
Lastly, he emphasized his experience in Malacanang as if it was any better to do so and affirmed that Duterte's accountants "counted all expenses to the last centavo when the President and his party were abroad ," while Arroyo and Aquino's (both of which there were no Freedom of Information at the time) may have "counted only costs of airfare and hotel accommodations."
Though his habit of nitpicking can be entertaining at times, we pray for Tiglao's improvement.
©The Pink Merman
Pacific-Atlantis Mermen Journal
Read the Pink Merman's copyright and other reminders.
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