(Eagle News)—President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, April 18, accused the Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism of being paid to discredit him and his family, and threatened to reveal what he said was its sources of funding.
Duterte made the accusation after PCIJ reported that the wealth of the President and his family had increased in recent years upon their assumption in office.
The reports came out months before the May elections, as Duterte campaigns for his candidates and his daughter Sara does the same for the bets of Hugpong ng Pagbabago, the regional party she founded.
Duterte’s son Paolo is also running for a seat in the House of Representatives.
“Eh itong mga taga-Maynila, mga writer akala mo si… Being so sarcastic. Ang babaho ninyo. Bunganga ninyo pati lahat na. Ang babaho talaga ninyo….Puro bayad ‘yan. Anak ng p*t* puro pera-pera ‘yan sila. Maniwala kayo. I’ll show you how,” he said.
He said he would release information on this “maybe this week.”
“Pero makita mo ‘yang mga investigative journalism walang — huwag kayong maniwala niyan. Pera-pera ‘yan pati ‘yang mga writers na,” he said.