ROXAS: MEDIA MIRRORS THE TRUTH
CHIDESPALACE ATTACK DOGS FOR REBUKE OF MEDIA 'MORALITY'

Liberal President Senator Manuel Roxas today rebuked Malacañang and its defenders for turning the tables on the media following a public uproar over reports of President Arroyo's lavish spending while at the United States and her family's ballooning wealth.

"Media is not the problem, media is just the mirror. Kung anong nakikita nila sa salamin, 'yan ang katotohanan (What media sees reflected in the mirror are simply the truth)," he said in reaction to presidential legal counsel Romulo Macalintal's lecture on morality to reporters covering the Palace beat.

"Ang kapal talaga ng mukha nila at nakuha pang mag-sermon imbes na mag-sorry. Di na nila alam kung anong isasagot. Galit na kasi ang tao sa kanila (They have the guts to lecture members of the media instead of just saying sorry! They don't know how to respond to the issue anymore because they have seen how outraged the public is right now)," he added.

The Visayan senator said President Arroyo and her entourage of politicians and Cabinet members should have exercised prudence during their official trip to the United States , stressing that, "they were representing the country in a foreign land."

"Nakakahiya ang ginawa nila. Lumabas pa ang balita sa American media. Habang naghihirap tayo rito sa ating bansa, hayun at nagpapakasasa sila sa mga mamahaling hapunan (They have put the country to shame. These reports came out in American media. While Filipinos suffer back home, there they were burning money on expensive dinners)," he said.

He added: "Kesyo pera ng bayan iyon o galing sa bulsa nila gaya ng palusot nila, ang bottomline dito: manhid na talaga ang gobyerno. Waldas sila ng waldas habang butas na butas naman ang bulsa ng Pilipino (Whether they spent public money or their own personal cash for the dinner as so they claimed, the bottom line is this: government is numb. They burned money while Filipinos could only find holes in their pockets)," he stressed.