Manila Bulletin takes responsibility for its staff who posted a personal comment under the publication’s official Facebook page, according to a statement released late Monday, October 4.

A screenshot that circulated online as early as Sunday, October 3, showed a comment from the official Manila Bulletin Facebook page defending Malasakit Centers, a pet project of Senator Bong Go.

The comment read, “Research ka kung ilang Malasakit Center at ilang Pilipino na ang nakinabang. Kesa naman ’yung iba diyan, sarili lang nila nakinabang.”

(Do research on how many Malasakit Centers were put up, and see how many Filipinos benefited from them. Unlike other self-serving initiatives used by other politicians.)

This was in reply to a comment from a Facebook user, who was criticizing Senator Bong Go after he had filed his candidacy for vice president.

In the lead-up to the 2019 senatorial elections, posters of then-senatorial candidate Go were often displayed at Malasakit Centers nationwide. As senator, Go authored the Senate version of the Malasakit Center bill, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in a special ceremony.

Go’s senatorial victory in 2019 was fueled by the President’s popularity and his closeness to him. He has often been accused of using government resources for undue exposure, even during the coronavirus pandemic.

A number of netizens highlighted that Malasakit Centers were built using government funds, and that taxpayers should be credited instead of Go.

While patients can seek financial assistance from Malasakit Centers, some users pointed out that indigent patients could access services elsewhere from agencies such as PhilHealth, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

A number of users said Malasakit Centers were therefore redundant and nothing new, and were just used for “rebranding” purposes.

Others started speculating that a Manila Bulletin editor could be behind the said comment because the said person had repeatedly posted pro-Duterte content and false information on their Facebook page.

The original comment has since been deleted, but screenshots have been reposted by several Facebook pages and Twitter accounts.

Manila Bulletin said its staff responsible for the comment would be “dealt with accordingly.”

“We welcome such feedback and reports of errors, so we could correct them and improve our work,” the statement said. – Rappler.com