By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
Something strange happened Sunday morning: two of the most widely followed, presumably credible news organizations in the country, GMA News and The Philippine Star, posted a story on the autopsy findings of Paolo Tantoco’s death… and then quietly deleted it.
Poof! Gone like magic.
And yet, there it was: screenshots circulating, netizens reposting, receipts intact. The GMA News headline even trended: “LA County Medical Examiner says Paolo Tantoco died of ‘cocaine effects.’” The Philippine Star’s own headline was blunt: “LA autopsy reveals cause of Juan Paolo Tantoco’s death.” But both pieces vanished before noon, and we’re left with questions.
Did national security depend on their removal? Hardly. This was not an espionage exposé but a factual, on-record report from the LA County Coroner’s office, which simply listed the cause of death: cocaine.
Could it be that certain relationships, business or otherwise, made these stories inconvenient? There are whispers of a media executive tied to the Tantoco family and that of a political force in Congress rocking the cradle of newsrooms.
And then, there’s the part that when Tantoco tragically died in March, he was reportedly part of the First Lady’s entourage during a Filipino film festival in the US. That’s not a conspiracy we’re suggesting, but merely public record.
What it reeks of, at least in the comments of netizens, is not just editorial cowardice, but media manipulation.
They know that other outfits, like Rappler, the Daily Tribune, and Bilyonaryo, carried the story. Even Balita, the Filipino tabloid arm of the more conservative Manila Bulletin, had the guts to report it online. But not Inquirer.net? Not Manila Bulletin itself?
Once upon a time, the “Big Three” of Philippine journalism — Inquirer, PhilStar, Bulletin — were the bastions of truth in a post-EDSA press. Today, one has been overtaken by its profit-driven digital sister, another is muzzled by conflict, and the third lets its tabloid lead the way. What happened?
As for GMA, when your newsroom’s motto says “Walang kinikilingan, walang pinoprotektahan,” you better not delete a factual report, not refute, not embargo, and definitely not erase.
Back in March, when news first broke of Tantoco’s death, some outlets ran headlines — and then swiftly scrubbed them. It already raised a lot of eyebrows then, now it really draws suspicion.
Meanwhile, I wonder — with President Marcos scheduled to visit the U.S. from July 20 to 22 — will the First Lady be part of the entourage again?
It’s custom, sure. But context matters. Tantoco’s death is no longer a quiet tragedy — it’s now a case tied to drugs, an official report, and a string of digital deletions that just won’t stay buried.
And let’s not forget: American investigators, unlike ours, tend to follow the facts even if it leads to uncomfortable company and especially when they smell a cover-up.
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