Palace slams New York Times ‘hack’ article

MALACAÑANG on Wednesday slammed what it called a “cynical” and “unfair” story by the New York Times ( NYT) about President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s rise to power, also describing the article as a “well-paid hack job” for people with “shady motives.”

In the March 21 article titled “Becoming Duterte: The Making of a Philippine Strongman,” writer Richard C. Paddock recounts how Mr. Duterte, who was “born to the elite and has lived a life surrounded by violence,” became a “brutal strongman spilling blood on the streets.”

The NYT said Mr. Duterte declined to be interviewed for the story, which contains accounts from his siblings and friends in his hometown of Davao City, where Mr. Duterte was mayor for more than two decades. “One would expect more from the

New York Times,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto C. Abella said in a statement, adding the article “sounds like a well-paid hack job for well-heeled clients with shady motives.”

“NYT cynically and unfairly narrates the President’s rise to power in the context of violence. It deliberately fails to mention the many initiatives the President made when he was Davao City mayor,” Mr. Abella also said.

The spokesperson then narrated Mr. Duterte’s achievements as mayor of Davao City, including a tough smoking ban and reduction of red tape in local government services.

“One gets the feeling NYT is not interested in presenting the whole truth, only that with which they can bully those who attempt an independent foreign policy,” Mr. Abella said, adding:

“[The President] does not engage in western liberal niceties to promote his agenda, to rebuild a nation with compromised internal structures.”