By Marjaleen Ramos
The Justice and Court Reporters Association (JUCRA) reporters aired on Wednesday their disapproval of Solicitor General Jose Calida’s calling out of ABS-CBN reporter Mike Navallo, a lawyer, during the filing of Calida’s quo warranto petition about the broadcast network before the Supreme Court.
"Calida is more than welcome to present his side in a calm, logical manner on acts and issues involving him. He has consistently refused to do so," the JUCRA reporters said in a statement obtained by CNN Philippines.Thank you, JUCRA family, for the love and support. 😘 pic.twitter.com/9Jngc3iluC
— Mike Navallo (@mikenavallo) February 12, 2020
“Instead, the solicitor general accused Navallo of persecuting him and urged him menacingly to ‘practice law’ instead of journalism,” the group added.
Calida on Monday confronted Navallo, who covers the justice beat, when the reporter asked for a copy of the quo warranto petition against the network.
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The group also said that Calida "failed to raise the exacting standards of his profession both as an officer of the court and as a ranking civil servant."
“We take it as an affront to our constitutional right to report. We believe that such veiled threats to reporters, especially when coming from a government official, have no space in democracy.”
Navallo exclusively broke last year the OSG’s alleged involvement in drafting the affidavit of Peter Joemel Advincula alias “Bikoy,” who accused Vice President Leni Robredo and other members of the opposition of sedition.
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