‘Philippine repatriation plan not that easy’
By ANDREW FANASIA
Newsroom, Honiara
SECRETARY to the Prime Minister (SPM) Dr Jimmy Rodgers call on the social media and the main stream media to stop spreading outrage assumption to incite the public versus the government.
He made this profound call after the general public accused the government of neglecting the Solomon Islands students studying in the Philippines during a press conference yesterday.
It was understood that the general public are reacting to what was reported in the social media and the main stream media about the repatriation plan for the S.I nationals in Philippines.
The public and the media expressed that the government did not decide quickly to bring back the students from the COVID-19 stricken country-Philippine.
It was reported in the media that the students call on the government to bring them back seven months ago but the government did nothing.
“We are now in September so you deduct seven months from September you will end up in February,” Dr Rodger said.
He questioned the press what happened in February and the answer is the students did not even travel to Philippines they are still in Honiara demanding the ministry of education to go back to Philippines.
“So how can they cry to come back when they have not gone yet,” he questioned.
He further stressed that this is just a simple thing about putting the facts in the media which the media failed to uphold and it leads to confusing the general public.
“The pressure in February was to send them by the same students, the same parents and the same people,” he said.
Dr Rodgers said media ethics should be a paramount essence in reporting everywhere and media in Solomon Islands is no exception.
