Inquirer business columnist suspended for one month

[bardigones]

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Inquirer business columnist suspended for one month

A business columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer will be suspended for a month after splashing water on the face of anti-Charter change activist RC Constantino over the weekend, ABS-CBN News reported.

“Committee members agreed that Agustin’s behavior was uncalled for – rude, boorish and unbecoming of a representative of the Philippine Daily Inquirer,” publisher Isagani Yambot said after a meeting Tuesday morning with editor in chief Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc and Lorna Kalaw-Tirol, the paper's Reader's Advocate.

Agustin doused Constantino with water when he confronted House Speaker Jose de Venecia and other administration congressmen during their Saturday. The press conference announced the administration congressmen's withdrawal of their proposal for a constituent assembly proposal as a means to amend the Constitution.

The decision to suspend Agustin and his column, "Cocktales," came after the business section piece failed to come out following Saturday's incident.

Yambot said Agustin's act was against the Journalists Code of Ethics and against the policies of the Inquirer.

Inquirer's reputation was also affected by the columnist's action.

Agustin accepted the suspension but said he did not regret what happaned Saturday. He said would first take a vacation overseas.

Yambot, however, said Agustin's return might not be that easy. He said the columnist will still have to answer allegations that he is a paid propagandist of several personalities allied with the Arroyo administration.

Agustin denied the allegations and said that handling public relations would be mean a conflict of interest on his part.

[marco624]

Im a fan of Victor Agustin's cocktales column in the Inquirer.

I have seen what he did on TV, it was boorish and an ungentleman's act. We have differences in opinion, but we should always respect other peoples thinking no matter how stupid it may seem. Freedom of expression is foremost in our constitution.

Lesson for this....Let us always keep our cool, anytime and all the time!!!

Happy driving!!!Peace

Para kay victor agustin eto ang para sa yo !

[empy]

si RC ang may kasalanan eh...he's nothing but a second rate, trying hard....copycat!!






ah i love old tagalog vhs movies from the filipino store :rofl01:

[Hanren]

Well, ano pinagkaiba ng ginawa ni Vic Agustin sa mga ginagawa ng mga anti-GMA rallyists o ng ibang tao? People express their views in different ways. yung mga rallyists nga nanununog pa ng posters. yung congresswoman nga nanampal pa (and she got away with it!).some even do it with a gun (coup attempts). PDI's reputation was damaged? Ang tanong: meron ba sila nun? hehehe..to date, napaka unbalanced naman ng views nila..lalo na yung views ng mga columnists (except for a "rare" few). Peace!

[shadow]

naku!!! 1 month mawawalang ng tsismis sa business section

[IMm29]

Well, ano pinagkaiba ng ginawa ni Vic Agustin sa mga ginagawa ng mga anti-GMA rallyists o ng ibang tao? People express their views in different ways. yung mga rallyists nga nanununog pa ng posters. yung congresswoman nga nanampal pa (and she got away with it!).some even do it with a gun (coup attempts).

What Vic Agustin did is still uncalled for. To me, it ranks as high as the congresswoman who slapped a food attendant on my uncalled for acts list. These aren't acceptable acts by educated people. I'm not saying that rallyists on the streets are uneducated. All I'm saying is that these aren't acts that should be done by educated people.

[dyerbz]

stupid, stupid, stupid! in the old days, vic agustin was considered one of the more respected journalists in the country. lately, he seems to have taken a different tact towards the profession. he seems satisfied with giving voice to rumors he gets from the office grapevine rather than digging up real evidence in the news trenches.

while rc constantino may have been out of line with his verbal attacks during the conference, he was still exercising the constitutionally protected right to free speech. mr. agustin's dousing him with water had no connection to his journalistic duties whatsover. if he found constantino's tirade offensive then he should have simply blasted away at him in his column. kudos to pdi and mr. isagani yambot, a true gentleman of the media world. agustin's sanctions are completely justified and an investigation of his possible financial connections to the pro cha-cha advocates is necessary to clear his name.

[OTEP]

Akala ko nga sa mukha ni Agustin binasag yung baso. May narinig kasi akong nabasag dun sa news footage.

[BlueBimmer]

nung ininterview ang head honcho ng inquirer sa tv, sabi nya 1 DAY suspension daw...sabi na nga ba iksi naman ng 1day :hysterical:

[jackndbox]

media persons should stick with reporting the news, not being part of the news.

what he did compromised his profession, his organization and his credibility as a newsman. i bet he won't be able to resume his column with inquirer.

his column will be missed though, as it is full of gossip and innuendoes about the rich and the famous, the most amusing piece in the usually boring business section....