01 Jun Corrupt Journalists, Beware! – Legitimate Target of assassination
During a press conference on Tuesday, May 31, president-elect Rodrigo Duterte said that corrupt journalists are not exempted as targets of assassination.
For the corrupt journalists, he said, “Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempted from assassination if you’re a son of a bitch.” Thus, he made a point that media killings in the Philippines do not always mean that the killer is the one that has to be deemed as the bad person.
“Most of those killed, to be frank, have done something. You won’t be killed if you don’t do anything wrong,” he added.
For the record, there are 174 murdered journalists since the end of the Marcos dictatorship. This is the highest mark in all of the countries in the world by far.
He said that journalists who received bribes or involved in other corrupt pursuits also deserved to die.
When the topic of freedom of speech has been raised, he said, “That can’t be just freedom of speech. The constitution can no longer help you if you disrespect a person.”
“The example here is Pala. I do not want to diminish his memory but he is a rotten son of a bitch. He deserved it,” he added.
Jun Pala, a journalist and a politician, was assassinated by gunmen on a motorcycle in Davao in 2003. Pala was a Duterte basher. That case has never been solved until now.
“If you are an upright journalist, nothing will happen to you,” said Duterte.
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