Solicitor General Jose Calida clearly overstepped the bounds of his office and of propriety when he turned personal, harassing ABS-CBN reporter Mike Navallo, who was covering the official’s filing of a quo warranto petition asking the Supreme Court to nullify the franchise of ABS-CBN and its subsidiary, ABS-CBN Convergence.
While fending off requests for interview, Calida singled out Navallo for confrontation.
“Lagi mo akong binabanatan ha. Lawyer ka rin pala.”
Navallo’s retort was spot on: “I’m just doing my job, Sir.”
Not content, Calida added: “Mag-practice ka na lang, magkita tayo sa court).”
Calida’s boorishness is the classic example of a government factotum who mistakes his position of authority as a license to throw his weight around. It is behavior that, of course, echoes his principal.
National Directorate
+639175155991
Media Free to Report on Suspicious Transactions
A cursory reading of the Anti-Money Laundering Act’s (AMLA) penal provisions nor an apology for “unintended” intimidation can never curtail the media’s freedom to report on suspicious transactions and the corruption spearheaded by public officials. We, the National...
