The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has expressed its support to veteran journalist Ed Lingao, "who is now being pilloried and threatened by some quarters" after radio commentator Erwin Tulfo made a video rant against him last weekend.
"At a time when Philippine journalism is being challenged by many Filipinos to be true to its vow of being truthful, balanced and fair in our reportage and commentaries, we hereby reaffirm our commitment to the same," NUJP said in a statement Saturday.
The group added: "At a time when it has become even more difficult to ferret truth from lies, spins and fakery, we hereby restate our firm promise to a high sense of responsibility and honesty in the practice of our chosen profession."
NUJP also reminded local broadcasters of the standards and principles they should adhere to, citing the Philippine Broadcast Code of 2011 which states that they should prohibit personal attacks and unfair criticism; acknowledge and rectify mistakes as soon as possible; and prohibit offensive, obscene, profane and vulgar words and phrases as well as name-calling and personal insult, among other things.
"Admittedly, some colleagues have forgotten these ethical standards that should govern our work as broadcasters and journalists," NUJP said, adding that Lingao’s main intention in calling out Tulfo for falling for fake news was to remind other media practitioners of these standards "and to protect our profession from further erosion of the people’s trust and respect of Filipinos."
Tulfo has gone on multiple tirades against Lingao since last weekend, most recently posting a statement on his Twitter account calling the latter a "lousy TV5 journalist and newscaster" who "wants fame at the expense of other broadcaster."
At a time when Philippine journalism is being challenged by many Filipinos to be true to its vow of being truthful, balanced and fair in our reportage and commentaries, we hereby reaffirm our commitment to the same.
At a time when it has become even more difficult to ferret truth from lies, spins and fakery, we hereby restate our firm promise to a high sense of responsibility and honesty in the practice of our chosen profession.
We do so as we express our support to our esteemed colleague Ed Lingao who is now being pilloried and threatened by some quarters.
Admittedly, some colleagues have forgotten these ethical standards that should govern our work as broadcasters and journalists. We believe Ed Lingao’s main intention in calling out a fellow broadcaster who commented on a fake news item was to remind us of these and to protect our profession from further erosion of the people’s trust and respect of Filipinos.
We take Mr. Lingao’s criticism as a general challenge to all journalists and broadcasters.
Indeed, we, from time to time, need reminding.