President Duterte Reveals Rappler Funded By CIA To Bring Him Down

President Rodrigo Duterte believes the website Rappler is out to bring him down with its reportage because it supposedly gets its funds from the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

In an interview aired over state-run PTV-4 Friday on October 13, President Duterte cited former Cabinet Secretary Rigoberto Tiglao’s column which listed Rappler as among the Philippine media outlets which is funded by the CIA.

“Si Tiglao, in-expose niya ‘yung mga CIA funded ano – Rappler, itong mga newspaper nila, itong mga investigative journalism. Ano pala ‘yan, subsidized by the Americans,” President Duterte said.

Asked if he was worried about Rappler’s alleged role in plans to topple his government, President Duterte said he’s consoled by the fact that Filipinos know the CIA is linked to the website.

“Ang gumagastos sa kanila, Rappler, America, CIA. Kaya huwag na kayo magtaka magbasa kayo niyang mga ‘yan sa Facebook, ‘yung mga Rappler issues. They are there to destroy me,” the President said.

“Ang akin lang is naaawa ako sa mga tao dito. That they had to sell their souls to the foreign power,” he added.

Rappler’s Chief Executive Officer Maria Ressa has denied that the website has foreign owners, though questions on how it is run remain.

Source: Politics