Carandang issues statement
regarding PCIJ blog post

COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY Ricky Carandang has posted a statement on the Official Gazette website of the Philippine government in reaction to the recent blog post that the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has acknowledged to be in error.

Carandang noted that the PCIJ has apologized for erroneously identifying him as the official who made a joke about “a lack of a need for a Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.” He also thanked Philippine Star reporter Christina Mendez, who wrote the original story that was quoted by the PCIJ in its blog post, for “clarifying the report.”

Nevertheless, Carandang said that “the way the (Star) article was written easily lent itself to possible misinterpretation.”

“This is not the first time that a story in a newspaper has been misconstrued and has led to false impressions,” Carandang said in his statement. “I hope that the editors and other concerned parties can somehow look at this and see what can be done about it.”

Carandang said he also wished that the PCIJ had “contacted me personally” before publishing the blog post.

Carandang’s official statement may be viewed here.