QC Councilor wants GMA-7 to Apologize for Irresponsible reporting on death of Uncle

A Quezon City councilor has slammed GMA-7’s irresponsible reporting on the death of her uncle, who perished when his two-story house in Barangay Tandang Sora caught fire on May 17. 

In her privilege speech, Councilor Doray Delarmente, the current Majority Floor Leader of the Quezon City Council, called on GMA-7 to rectify the numerous mistakes of its reporter and apologize to the family of her late uncle, Retired Police Brigadier General George Ancheta.

Ancheta, 76, died after he wasn’t able to get out of his burning house, while his wife and three male househelpers survived the incident that occurred around 9 p.m.

When the fire was put out, GMA-7 reporter Jamie Santos reported the incident live on the news program SAKSI while she was well within the vicinity of the burnt house.

Delarmente said Santos made some unforgivable mistakes in her report that inflicted additional pain and misery to the already grieving family.

Santos reported that the victim was able to get out of the house but returned inside. Delarmente described this as false information since the victim was not able to leave the burning house.

The househelper identified only as Andrew, when interviewed by Santos, even uttered the exact words “tapos yung asawa niya po, bumalik po sa taas ulit. Hindi na po nakabalik,” meaning the person went up the second floor and not out of the house.

“In our case, not only have you tarnished the reputation of a well-loved, well-respected and bemedalled high-ranking police officer, but you have also broken the hearts of all his family members, friends at lahat ng mga pulis na nagmamahal at humahanga sa kanya,” Delarmente said in her privilege speech.

The Councilor pointed out that only her uncle’s house was destroyed, contrary to Santos’ claim that several houses were razed by fire.

She also accused Santos of irresponsible journalism for reporting on nationwide television that her uncle died even without first confirming if the victim’s family was already informed of his death.

The Councilor said the reporter showed insensitivity when she interviewed on live television a survivor who was clearly traumatized by the incident. She also decried the network’s invasion of privacy since the report showed footages of the victim’s relatives while grieving, panicking and not in their right state of mind.

She requested the Committee on Public Order and Safety to conduct a hearing in aid of legislation on the matter, particularly on the protocols to be observed during such incidents.

Several councilors have expressed support to Delarmente’s call to summon Santos, her cameraman and the head of the GMA newsroom to the hearing.

Aside from them, Delarmente also wants the Committee to invite the Bureau of Fire Protection, particularly FSSUPT Aristotle Banaga, the head of the QC BFP, the Quezon City Police District and officials from Barangay Tandang Sora to shed light on the matter.