DAVAO CITY — The political arena deserves only fair election campaigns and should discourage mudslingings, former Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher “Bong” Go said Saturday.
“I personally discourage mudslinging. If the facebook pages were to derail other people, ayaw kong nagkakasiraan (I don’t want throwing shades at each other),“ Go said in his speech during the Mindanao Media Safety and Security Summit, as he appealed to candidates and supporters to avoid mudslinging particularly in social media platforms.
Go made this call after social media giant Facebook recently took down accounts, some of which are supportive of the Duterte administration.
Responsible social media use
He said the responsible use of social media is part of democracy.
“It is democracy in action. Okay lang na tanggalin (It’s okay to remove them) if Facebook thinks it is used to derail other people,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte’s former aide also called on the media to “help raise awareness and protect the democracy.”
“Gusto kong sabihin na kayo ang isa sa aking tulay para malaman ko ang mga hinanaing ng sambayanan. Kayo ang nagsisilbing taga-dala ng impormasyon na pwedeng magamit para masolusyonan ang mga problema ng bayan (I just want to say that you are one of my bridges to be able to know the people’s concerns. You bring information that is used to solve issues in the country),” he added.
Given the crucial role of the media, he said, members of the press have to be protected.
He added that he plans to strengthen media security through legislation if elected in the Senate, by supporting his political mentor’s first administrative order — the establishment of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.
“You have to be protected because you uphold the truth. There are a lot of people who want to abuse this power of the press and abuse your ability to spread truthful news,” Go said.
“It is indeed important for us and the rest of the Filipinos to read credible, accurate and fact-based news. The truth must prevail, always,” he added.
Go is running under the senatorial slate of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
The administration ally formalized his bid for the 2019 senatorial race after he filed his certificate of candidacy before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Oct. 15, 2018. (PR/PNA)
