The Makabayan bloc on Sunday denounced Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez for accusing reporters of being “paid hacks” and for posting their contact numbers online after they sought his comment on allegations linking him to a collapsed flood control project in Matag-ob, Leyte.
“Journalists who seek comments from public officials are merely exercising their fundamental role in a democracy,” ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said.
“We lament Representative Gomez’s doxxing of journalists who were simply doing their job,” Tinio said.
Doxxing is searching for and publicly disclosing on the internet, usually with malicious intent, the personal contact details of certain personalities.
“The media were exercising their right and duty to seek balanced reporting. Asking for his explanation is not the fault of the media,” Tinio added.
Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Louise Co, a lawyer, said the exposure of reporters’ personal information “constitutes a direct threat to media workers.”
She added: “It is deeply troubling that on National Press Freedom Day, we witness such blatant disregard for media rights.”
Last week, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) also earlier criticized Gomez for the same actions.
Since Thursday night, the lawmaker—also a former actor—has not been responding to media questions amid the mounting backlash.
