By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Liberal Party candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy†Aquino III has demanded an apology from ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. for erroneously reporting on his mental state based on a hoax psychiatric report spreading on the Internet.
“I will write a letter asking them to explain the report and issue a public apology,†said Aquino in an interview shortly after his arrival at the Davao City International Airport at 3 p.m. Friday.
ABS-CBN News aired a news report claiming that Aquino had suffered from depression when he was 36 years old based on a document printed on a letterhead of the Ateneo de Manila University Psychology Department and signed by Fr. Tito Caluag S.J.
Both the Ateneo and Caluag had declared the document as bogus.
Aquino questioned why ABS-CBN aired the erroneous report without first verifying the document with the school or the signatory.
Need for attribution
“You need to have attribution. There has to be somebody responsible for what is being said. Once you start quoting...and the people who are supposed to stand by their pronouncements cannot be found...we are in a serious problem and dilemma here. Every bit of gossip becomes front page news. [How] do we advance any of the national agenda when we rely on mere gossip to fuel all their discussions?†Aquino said.
He said his letter of complaint could wait until after the elections because he was concerned about more pressing national issues which include: The Commission on Elections’ ability to mount a fair and orderly automated elections and prevent a failure of elections; the President’s plan to name a new Chief Justice and Sandiganbayan Justice despite the ban on midnight appointments; the chronic brownouts especially in Mindanao; and the restiveness of the military.
Aquino scoffed at the suggestion of ABS-CBN News senior executive Tina Monzon Palma that he undergo a psychiatric test to debunk doubts about his mental health.
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