- Ronald Gem Celestial clarifies he was not the one who was rude to Rodrigo Duterte in the UPLB meet
- He slams Rappler, says their video made it look like he was the one haranguing the mayor
- He apologizes though, hopes everyone can focus on the real problems and issues affecting PH
MANILA, Philippines – He may have asked a question, but he did not harass Digong.
On his Facebook account, the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) student, Ronald Gem Celestial, posted an open letter to Rappler slamming the online news site for a video report which appeared to record him disrespecting Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte when the latter attended a university forum last Friday, March 11, 2016.
“Today, I was expecting to receive birthday greetings and wishes, but due to a misleading video report by Rappler, I have been receiving curses, hate messages, and death threats from some of the supporters of PDP-Laban Presidential bet and Davao City Mayor Hon. Rodrigo Duterte,” he said.
According to Celestial, while he was indeed the one who asked Duterte the question on what concrete steps Duterte can take to fulfill his plan of eliminating crime and corruption in three to six months as he pledged because Filipinos are tired of hearing empty promises, he was not the one who told the mayor to hurry up with his answer so he can go home.
“However, in a video report by Rappler, it seemed that I was the one who said the following: ‘Sir, sana pakisagot lang po nang diretso kasi nagtatanong po kami nang diretso dito para po makauwi na kayo,’” he said.
Slamming Rappler for the misleading video which has resulted in him receiving curses, hate messages and death threats, Celestial nonetheless apologized to anyone who felt slighted by the incident and hopes the public would focus on the bigger problems hounding the country.
“I would like to appeal to everyone to go beyond personal attacks and criticize the real problems that are plaguing our society. If in any way, I have offended anyone, my sincerest apologies. It was not and will never be our intention to disrespect anyone. I believe that forums with national leaders should be used as an avenue to get to know our candidates beyond what they are being portrayed in the mainstream media. I call everyone to maximize these opportunities to know, understand and scrutinize the plans and platforms of our aspiring leaders,” he said; adding that he also wants Rappler and other media organizations to publish fair and unbiased news for the sake of the public.
“As the 2016 Presidential Election draws near, I call Rappler and the mainstream media to stop sensationalism and be genuine vanguards of the society by reporting the struggles of the Filipino people and calling everyone to action,” he said.
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