MANILA, Philippines – Please be accurate.

This was the appeal of President Benigno Aquino III to the media on Friday, December 5, at the Bulong Pulungan at the Sofitel, his annual get-together with journalists.

Aquino reminded media of their “capacity to shape discourse, agenda, and the priorities of both government and society,” before citing an example of an inaccurate report on the approaching Typhoon Ruby (international name: Hagupit).

“On Tuesday, Secretary Mario Montejo of our DOST (Department of Science and Technology) informed me that Ruby’s estimated strength would be somewhere in the neighborhood of about 140 kilometers per hour, bringing with it heavy rains if it makes landfall, expectedly on Sunday. Let us remember now that Yolanda’s maximum winds based on some reports were pegged at about 300 kph,” Aquino said.

“On Wednesday, one of our major dailies headlined Ruby as ‘Yolanda-like.’ We all know that the paper had to be printed on Tuesday, and thus the information that the report was based [on] must have come from Tuesday’s information.”

The Philippine Daily Inquirer carried a banner story with the same term on Wednesday.

Aquino said he was “concerned with such a statement,” but said “up until yesterday at the NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council) briefing, there was no indication or official analysis predicting that Ruby would be Yolanda-like in strength.”

“At best, if Ruby struck, its strength would be more comparable to Pablo,” Aquino said.

One of the strongest typhoons to hit Mindanao, Pablo made landfall in December 2012 with maximum sustained winds that reached 185 kph. Pablo killed over 1,000 people and wrought P36.95-B in damage.

The President added, “One has to ask: What was the basis of such speculation, and don’t we all agree that, in reporting, we must always get the facts right, the angle right, and the news right, if we are to truly inform our people?”

Aquino encouraged media to “demonstrate goodwill and good cheer” this Christmas season.

“Today, it is my hope that from your pens will come the responsible, sober writing that will help foster the confidence we need as we weather this challenge again as a people,” he said.

“As you have earned the respect of our people, you have no other motivation than to do what is right, to voice your informed and honest opinions, to stimulate relevant and productive discussions, and to set a standard in news-making that caters not to the mob but to the truth.”

Typhoon Ruby, already in the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), is expected to make landfall on Saturday.

‘Very happy’

On Thursday, Aquino attended a briefing of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on the typhoon, wherein he grilled officials of the state weather bureau and the Cabinet for over two hours. Asked to assess the briefing, he said he was “very happy” with it.

“At the end of the day, I think I’m ultimately responsible for how this government works and I want to impress upon everybody that it is not just doing something but rather doing the right thing. And, in certain instances, I really have to press and overcome the inertia of some of the members of the bureaucracy,” he said.

”I really want to be able to say to myself when I look myself at the mirror that we have done everything that was humanly possible to address whatever issued to us.”

He reminded the public that the typhoon’s “track is not yet defined.” He gave assurances however that the planning for Ruby has alternatives.

“We’re not putting all of the eggs in one basket. So regardless of where this track eventually finally settles, then we will be able to do a lot better than Yolanda,” he said. – Rappler.com