Inside Philippine politics & beyond

Letter to a certain Tiglao

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By Raïssa Robles

Dear Bobie,  now that I’ve finished some deadlines using real journalism practices (you should try it one of these days) I can take some time to address that letter you wrote to my editors last week.

In that email, you peremptorily commanded the SCMP’s editors to read your column wherein you urged the paper to fire me as its correspondent.

You know what I felt when I read your column? I felt sad. I felt sad seeing so many mistakes. You’d think with all your years in journalism, you’d have learned to be less sloppy. Seems not.

In fact you were so sloppy even your short email had a mistake. You got the gender of the editor in chief wrong. A word of advice: in matters like this, don’t guess..

Anyway, let’s go over your column, shall we? Look on me as the editor you’ve always sorely needed.

In your column, you refer to  me as “one Raissa Robles.” You’re pretending not to know me? But dear Bobbie, are you  concealing the fact that we have known each other for years, going all the way back to Business Day?

We have known each other so well that once, you all but confided to me that the Arroyo administration cheated in the 2004 elections? Here’s a piece I wrote about it.

Rigoberto Tiglao: Super-Fraud

Perhaps the cheating was done with the help of Cambridge Analytica’s mother company, Strategic Communications Laboratories or SCL?

Well, in my most recent piece in the South China Morning Post, I explained why—between Benigno Aquino III and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo—it was more logical for Arroyo to have contracted SCL.

You can read my piece by clicking on the title:

Explainer: the connections between Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Cambridge Analytica

Duterte’s defenders have denied any relationship with the controversial consulting firm that exploited the data of millions of Facebook users – this is how the South China Morning Post established those links

Now, let’s look at your column, which any journalistic tyro can immediately see makes one fundamental horrible mistake: it uses unnamed sources. “Sources” told you? Really?

Are you sure you didn’t just invent those sources?

Now, every beginning journalist knows that if you must use unnamed sources, you should present corroborating evidence. Like an interview with a named person. Or a document. Or a photo. You know? Like a photo of people seated on a table with Alexander Nix?

Basically, YOU HAVE NOTHING.

And you are saying I’m a poor journalist?

By the way, the lead or first paragraph of your column gives a basic fact wrong—which is why I think you need an editor like me. You called SCL “a sister company of Cambridge Analytica”. It’s not. SCL is the parent company.

Sloppy.

You assumed I got my data from the 2013 brochure. I did not.

You also made this whopper of a conclusion: “After 2013 and through 2016, SCL no longer reported the Philippines as a client. Only Kenya, South Africa, India, Thailand and Indonesia were its international clients.”

Did you bother to look at the present SCL website? Did you not see that the Philippines continues to be part of its “worldwide” activities and/or operations? Click on this link: https://sclgroup.cc/worldwide

SCL even thoughtfully provides the following e-mail address for its Philippine activities and clients.

Dear Boobie, I never said Joel Egco was the liaison with Nix. I merely confirmed with Egco IN AN INTERVIEW that he indeed wrote in Manila Times about Nix and that he had met Nix. I was very careful in the phrasing and I wrote that Egco told me he was not part of Duterte’s campaign.

But then, I found THE PHOTOGRAPHS which, curiously you do not even mention in your column.

And when you wrote – “My sources in the Aquino camp alleged that it was his cousin Rapa Lopa, formerly president of polling firm Pulse Asia who contracted the SCL’s services, which cost P50 million, paid in dollars, shouldered allegedly by another cousin, the tycoon Antonio Cojuangco, Jr. Lopa asked Yolanda Ong of Campaigns and Grey, to implement the SCL’s recommendations for Aquino’s campaign strategy.”

Who are your sources? Did you bother asking Rapa Lopa and Yoly Ong?

Your next paragraph – claiming that the Aquinos were “a pioneer” in  getting foreign political consulting groups – flies in the face of history. Ferdinand Marcos used a foreign consulting group,  Paul Manafort Stone & Kelly. Come to think of it, even Ramon Magsaysay had Ed Lansdale.

I think your rage is clouding your reasoning.

I realize it now from your letter—all these labeling and branding me “Yellow” are meant to shame me and stop me from writing what I see is the truth.

And boy, it worked for the last two years.

I hesitated to write for fear that it would bring on an avalanche of insults like “Dilawan”, “Yellow”, hate messages and threats.

But you know what, Bobie?

You’ve just inspired me to write the best I can, the most I can.

For that, thank you

Your ex-Fan,

Raissa

P.S. I still think you’re very sloppy.

P.P.S. I’m graciously waiving any fee I should charge you for the edit job on your piece

Comments

  1. Raissa, you are a joy to read! Continue your good work. Praying for you and your family, your good health and safety.

  2. I can’t believe how corrupt Tiglao is! Thank you, Raissa, for letting the world know about him.

  3. Duterte appoints La Viña, Antiporda as undersecretaries

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/985456/duterte-appoints-la-vina-antiporda-as-undersecretaries

    By: Leila B. Salaverria Philippine Daily Inquirer 07:05 AM April 26, 2018

    President Rodrigo Duterte has brought back his election campaign’s social media manager, Jose Gabriel “Pompee” La Viña, to the government after sacking him from the Social Security System (SSS) in February for allegedly questionable activities.

    The President named La Viña undersecretary at the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday, his appointment paper showed. La Viña replaces Rolando Cañizal.

  4. “The company removed the website content about the 2016 Philippine election, however, archived versions are still visible on the internet. Though SCL DID NOT IDENTIFY its Philippine client by name, the brief pointed CLEARLY to former Davao City mayor Duterte, who was one of the six candidates in the 2016 race.”

    “In the run up to national elections the incumbent client was widely perceived as both kind and honourable, qualities his campaign team thought were potentially election-winning,” the SCL web content said. “But SCL’s research showed that many groups within the electorate were more likely to be swayed by qualities such as toughness and decisiveness. SCL used the cross-cutting issue of crime to rebrand the client as a strong, no-nonsense man of action, who would appeal to the true values of the voters.”

    So zero explanation on why you claim it was Digong and not Pnoy who SCL helped win according to the SCL 2013 brochure? Is this an example of a BOOM ERR RANG journalism?

    • aba, toughness and decisiveness and even called obama son of a b! swore at the pope too, that’s how tough the candidate is, walang kinatatakutan, pwe!. man of action and showed himself riding on a motorbike, tapos man of action supposedly riding on a jet ski too . . . pnoy on the other hand, his admin was branded as bunch of schoolboys, elite pa, weak kuno si pnoy at kulang ng political will.

      bottom line, the candidiate that cambridge analytica had helped can only be duterte. man of action yan, jet ski man, walang kinatatakutan.

      • decisive yang si duterte, his election promise – in 3months susugpuin ang drug problems sa pinas! tama ang cambridge analytica, 16 million people loved a decisive candidate, a no holds barred candidate. a not afraid to kill candidate.

    • John Dawn, hindi po tumakbo si PNoy nung 2016. Nung 2010 pa po. Alternate universe ata yung pagkaalam mo?

  5. Raissa,

    May I suggest for a future piece a write-up on the personalities whose lives have more or less followed the same pathetic trajectory as Tiglao:

    1. Adrian Cristobal
    2. Alex Magno
    3. Gary Olivar
    4. Jerry Barican
    5. Harry Roque

    They all start out as idealistic youth, joining the leftist organizations, suffer, give up so much, but perhaps upon entering middle age find out that they realize what they really need is financial stability – because of medical bills maybe, or children going to college, or their marriages break up due to financial trouble- so they end up swinging to the far right, becoming apologists for fascists, corruption and sacrifice their once lofty ideals and characters.

    Pathetic bunch.

    • Hmm, I did mention Adrian Cristobal in my book Marcos Martial Law: Never Again.

      I just might take up your suggestion.

    • nag-turn coat sila, turncoat on themselves the once idealistic youths. pano kasi, they saw those without morals and with no shred of ethics owning several expensive cars, living in mansions and having a nice life, wealthy beyond belief and unbothered by conscience.

      the kuraps, instead of being jailed, led a high life, having mistresses, immune and untouched by the law. nakakainggit talaga. idealism will not pay bills.

      still, there are those that do the right thing, unfazed by the trappings of ill gotten wealth. para sa kanila sapat na yong sahod, their wants are few. and if they become rich, it’s because of hard work, good money management and being frugal.

  6. Continue writing Raissa! I will always be where truth is! Sad though, coz i used to believe in this person.

  7. The “resibo” process negates people like Tiglow. Sayang the guy used to be “aktib” but I guess he cannot bite the hand that feeds him. Shame! Shame! Shame!

    Continue to see the truth Raissa. Cheers!

  8. Good piece. Factual rebuttals which can be tested. When i was still reading Tiglao’s articles he seemed angry all the time. Just a shame that after a few pieces it really strikes you that he is blindered. I just hope it is personal conviction that drives his articles and not any arrangements with politicians. As that would be the last nail in his journalistic reputation’s coffin.

    • Thank you.
      Welcome to Cyber Plaza Miranda, the online discussion group where arguments sometimes get heated.

    • last nail in his coffin, bet that nail is made of gold! de bale na kung wasak ang reputation ng tiglaw na to, he’s among like minded friends and much compensated, he, he, he.

  9. But Raissa, you’ve always written the best you can.
    Awaiting more of the same from one of your thousands (millions?) ardent fans

    • Thank you, Lilian.

      Welcome to Cyber Plaza Miranda, the online discussion group. Hope you will join in the heated debates.

  10. Hahahahaha! Spot on! Rigoberto has everything in his past to take a spat against any and all pereceived Dilawan, as we know how he hated Pnoy when his stint as an ambassadro was not extended after GMA. This is not to mention that he is now avidly supporting BBM; thus he is not only grinding a misguided axe but now a paid hack for the Marcoses.