Willard Cheng!, ANC cub reporter and TPO stringer, was arrested by presidential security guards at 8:30 this morning for allegedly giving P50 to a palace gate sentry who allowed him entry without the appropriate pass. Cheng was following a hot lead on the distribution of loot bags in mid-October. Pfc. Juanito S. Dalidayon has been arrested for disloyalty and graft while Cheng has been charged with trespassing complexed with bribery, press secretary Ignacio Bunye said on government TV. “We will not tolerate corruption in our mission to build a strong state,” he added.
TPO and ANC appealed for support from the Philippine National Press Club (PNPc), saying the incident was a clear transgression of press freedom. But we were simply told “No one is above the law.” We also learned that the PNPc board has issued a resolution supporting the president’s ‘adherence to the rule of law” and acknowledging the legitimacy of the state’s police power over thought.
Bunye later retracted his televised statement.
“Accept it,” TPO editors advised Cheng when he called us to say Ronnie Puno had offered him a wad of depreciated $100 bills to forget about the incident. TPO management will issue an official receipt and will not be returning calls from the Philippine National Press Club.
The Philippine Onion 