Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go hit the online news outlet Rappler for writing what he called “fake news” about his alleged intervention in the Ph18-billion Frigate Acquisition Project (FAP) of the Philippine Navy.
Go slammed Rappler for ‘irresponsible reporting’ as they have posted a malicious story where details were not even clarified from the officials of the Department of National Defense (DND) before releasing it.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) also released a story about Go’s supposed interference in the warship deal.
“Rappler, sana sumulat naman kayo ng (mga) magagandang pangyayari. Makakatulog pa ba kayo niyan? Para na rin kayong nakapatay ng tao, makonsensya naman kayo. Biktima ako dito (Rappler, please write good stories too. Are you still able to sleep? It’s like you killed a person. Please have a conscience. I was a victim here),” Go noted.
“Ang problema sa fake news na ito ang satisfaction nila na sumulat ng paninira (The problem with this fake news is that their satisfaction is to write something malicious),” he added.
He even called Rappler ‘too malicious’ for creating an intrigue between the National Defense Secretary Defense Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Rey Leonardo so President Rodrigo Duterte would be mad at the two.
Go urged the Senate to continue the hearing on fake news and requested them to invited Rappler and PDI to explain themselves.
He insisted that he did not interfere in the said deal, and it was confirmed by Former Philippine Navy flag-officer-in-command Vice Admiral Ronald Joseph Mercado.
“Secretary Bong Go never approached me to inquire and neither did he make any form of communication to influence,” Mercado said.
The allegations were about Go trying to intervene in the acquisition of the Combat Management System for the two missile-capable frigates that are under contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries.
