A serious charge—from unnamed sources

JEERS TO The Standard for publishing an inaccurate report from anonymous sources about the alleged use of a Chinese national to fund alleged bribes for lawmakers for the swift passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

In its report “Crime lord paid BBL ‘payola’?” published on June 1, the Standard claimed that Wang Bo, who is wanted by the Chinese government and the International Criminal Police (Interpol) for allegedly embezzling $100 million, funded the bribes allegedly given to lawmakers to pass the BBL.

Quoting unnamed sources, the newspaper alleged that lawmakers “received millions in hard cash from Monday to Wednesday last week” shortly after Wang was ordered released by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) supposedly upon paying P100 million to secure his release from the BI jail facility in Taguig and allocating P440 million  for members of the House of Representatives.

But Wang was not released upon the intervention of Justice Secretary De Lima. He has been detained at the BI facility since his arrest last February 10.

The report, referring to “official records” supposedly obtained by Standard, said the release order was issued by the three-member Board of Commissioners of the BI composed of Commissioner Siegfred Mison and Associate Commissioners Abdullah Mangotara and Giblerto Repizo.

Mangotara and Repizo allegedly had a private meeting with a representative of Wang on May 21 during which the commissioners hinted that they needed to raise funds for the President’s BBL campaign in Congress. The story also alleged, quoting an unnamed House official, that the records of the CCTV cameras at the rear entrance of the House main building where the money was supposedly unloaded have been erased.

The House Majority Leader called the report a “fabricated lie,” while Cagayan De Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez, who led the Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL, lamented the newspaper’s “irresponsible reporting,” and denied receiving any money in exchange for  approval of the BBL (“House leader denies payola to solons from Chinese crime lord for BBL passage,” June 1, 2015, Philippine Daily Inquirer).

BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison also denied receiving money in exchange for stopping the deportation of Wang, but added that “he was made to believe” by Mangotara and Repizo that Wang,  “shouldn’t be deported to China since the foreign national committed the crimes here in Manila.” (“BI chief debunks bribery claims,” June 3, 2015, Manila Bulletin)

The expose further fed allegations of bribery that reportedly occurred during the House deliberations on the draft BBL. However, the report, by disseminating potentially false information from anonymous informants, risked misleading the public.

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) previously jeered the Manila Times for a similar practice (“Unverified info from anonymous source,” April 14, 2015).

Reports from The Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Manila Bulletin, and The Philippine Star called the story a “fairy tale.”

But during a hearing on the alleged pay-offs by Wang Bo last June 15, Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Cavite threatened to cite Christine Herrera for contempt unless she revealed her sources. Although Herrera can be faulted for citing anonymous sources, under Republic Act No. 53, as amended by R.A. No. 1477, otherwise known as the Shield Law, a journalist cannot be compelled to reveal his or her sources unless it involves a national security issue.