Misquoted in PDI report on GMA?

THIS REFERS to the article headlined “GMA still a VIP” (Inquirer, 5/5/11) where I was erroneously, if not purposely, misquoted by reporter DJ Yap.
In the article, Yap maliciously quoted me as saying that “Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo skipped immigration and received VIP treatment at the Naia when she departed for the United States last week…” Likewise, he falsely quoted me to have said that “VIPs like Arroyo and her family had the option to use the courtesy lane and could go directly to the tarmac upon clearing of her travel documents.”

For the record, I did not say those words as written by Yap. Clearly, this is a malicious spin in violation of the Inquirer motto—“Balanced News, Fearless Views.”

Yap did call me on May 4, but he only asked me if it was all right for Arroyo to use the VIP room at Naia. He did not ask me anything about Arroyo’s immigration departure formalities. Hence, in our phone conversation, I could not have made those statements attributed to me, much less tell him that “perhaps she was in a hurry” as stated in his story.

As to what motivated Yap to ascribe to me statements that I did not utter, he would be the only one to know.

—LINA ANDAMAN-PELIA,
acting chief,
Airport Operations Division,
Bureau of Immigration,
Magallanes Drive,
Intramuros, Manila

The story is accurate. My question was if Arroyo had to “go through the immigration counter.” The answer was “no,” hence “skipped.” The presidential lounge (VIP room) is connected to the tarmac, thus VIPs could go directly to the tarmac. The “perhaps she was in a hurry” quote was a translation of “baka nagmamadali siya.”

—DJ YAP, reporter, Inquirer