Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio slammed journalist Raissa Robles over what she called remarks that were "insulting" and a "demonization" of Mindanao.
This comes after Robles, who has been writing for the South China Morning Post (SCMP) based in Hongkong since 1996, insinuated in a tweet that the plan of incoming Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco to develop Mindanao as a tourist destination might result in more kidnapping cases.
"Apparently, Frasco would like to open up Mindanao to tourism. I'm sure the extremist Abu Sayyaf Group and other bandits would be pleased by the prospects of so many potential kidnap victims. Way to go, Frasco. Prep yourself for ransom negotiations. ASG might ask you to [negotiate] personally," she wrote.
This did not sit well with the Duterte-Carpio, who stated that ASG’s kidnapping operations in Mindanao have significantly declined since 2016, the year that his father President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office.
"What Robles did was a demonization of Mindanao and an insult to its people, who also deserve to experience the gains of the Duterte administration over the past six years," she said in a statement over the weekend.
"Robles clearly wanted to undervalue everything that the Duterte administration has done in keeping the peace and security in Mindanao and ensuring that concerns caused by terrorist organizations, including kidnap for ransom groups, are addressed appropriately with the help of local governments and leaders of communities," she added.
“As a Filipino, Robles should be ashamed of herself for dangerously trying to stoke and encourage terrorist groups to target tourists in Mindanao,” the statement ended.
In another tweet on Sunday, Robles justified her statement and said that she has been covering terrorism in some parts of Mindanao.
I've been covering terrorism in conflict parts of Mindanao long before you were mayor. You can criticize me all you want but the security advisories of UK, US and Canada are all there for everyone to see. Read this while you foam in the mouth against me," the journalist wrote, sharing a link to her article regarding the history of ASG.
