Arnold Clavios Interview

With Atty. Villamor

A Case Study on Communication Ethics





Fernand C. Jimeno


Introduction
Arnold Clavio had been a hot topic on the social media after his interview with
Atty. Alfredo Villamor on the November 5, 2013 episode of Unang Hirit, a morning news
program of GMA 7.

A lot of people were annoyed on the way he conducted his interview with the
lawyer of the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind, Janet Lim Napoles.

On the interview, Clavio got frustrated with Atty. Villamor, who said that he only
represents Janet Napoles for the serious illegal detention case, and that he was not in
position to answer questions related to the pork barrel case.

Their exchange got heated up, as Atty. Villamor still calmly defends his side.
When Clavio realized that the conversation is at its dead end, he ended the interview
with salamat po, wala po akong nakuha sa inyo.

Arnold Clavio issued an official statement seeking for public understanding two
days after the interview.

Unang Hirit has received a Grave and serious admonition from the Movie and
Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). Along with this, MTRCB has
also required the program to pay a fine of 20,000 pesos and for the GMA network
executives, the executive producer, director, writer, public affairs hosts, and especially
Mr. Arnold Clavio, to attend a seminar about media and the legal profession in the
context of both audience sensitivity and the administration of justice

Case Background:

Arnold Clavio gets flak from netizens for rude interview with Napoles
lawyer
(By Edwin P. Sallan, Interaksyon.com - November 7, 2013)

Veteran news anchor Arnold Clavio has been landing in the news himself as of
late and not always for the right reasons.

Last year, he found himself in hot water for castigating on the air two foreign-bred
Filipino players of the Philippine national football team who were charged with sexual
harassment by FIFA official and former Philippine Olympic Committee president Cristy
Ramos.

The outburst drew a sharp reaction from the Philippine Football Federation who
demanded an apology for what the organization described as racist, discriminatory,
libelous and malicious statements Clavio uttered on his GMA Network morning show
Unang Hirit. Clavio responded by issuing a statement pleading for understanding but
did not categorically apologize.

Early this year, he became somewhat of a heroic figure for slamming Vice Ganda
for making fun of colleague and fellow Kapuso broadcaster Jessica Soho during the
latters sold-out concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. This time, Clavios outrage over
the gay comedians vulgar jokes subjecting Soho to a gang rape scenario was favorably
received by the public and Vice Ganda was left with no choice but to make an emotional
public apology on his noontime show Its Showtime.

How times easily change. From being a hero, it seems like Clavio is back to zero
with his latest outburst involving a phone patch interview with Atty. Alfredo Villamor.
After Atty. Lorna Kapunans withdrawal from the case last week, Villamor is now the
lone counsel of the controversial pork barrel queenJanet Lim Napoles for the serious
illegal detention case filed against her by PDAF scandal whistle-blower Benhur Luy.

The interview, which took place Tuesday morning again and aired live on Unang
Hirit, was posted on the YouTube account, GMA KapusoTV Shows which also
featured clips from other GMA shows.

Clavio wanted to know whether Napoles would attend the coming Senate
hearings on the PDAF issue. Villamor responded by saying he thinks his client will
attend but he cant say for certain since Napoles has another counsel for that hearing.

My engagement is limited to the serious illegal detention case, Villamor politely
replied before backtracking by saying that he does not know if Napoles has another
lawyer who will accompany her for her Senate appearance.

Clavio then pursued the matter further by suggesting that Napoles Senate
appearance would be an opportunity for her to confront her accuser Luy. Again,
Villamor reiterated that hes not involved in Napoles PDAF cases.

Sounding annoyed, Clavio then asked when Napoles is scheduled to appear in
court for her serious illegal detention case since thats what Villamor is representing her
for. The lawyer calmly replied by saying that their camp is still waiting for the resolution
for their petition for bail.

At this point, Clavio is beginning to sound like hes running out of patience and
blurted, Eh sino po ba ang dapat naming kausapin dito? Again, Villamor made the
distinction that he could only speak for Napoles when it comes to her serious illegal
detention case and not the PDAF issue.

Pasira ka ng araw eh, Clavio snapped, adding that the case in court was
exactly what he meant. As their exchange heated up and as Villamor continued to
calmly explain his side, Clavio told the lawyer, Tatawa-tawa ka pa!

Realizing the conversation is at a dead end, an exasperated Clavio said, Sana
pala hindi na namin kayosalamat po, wala po akong nakuha sa inyo.

As the video of the interview became viral and now has over 267,000 views as of
this writing, Arnold Clavio continues to be a trending topic on Twitter and mostly
because social media netizens were displeased with how he treated Villamor.

Arnold Clavio on Villamor interview: 'I went beyond my limits'
(By Ira Agting, Rappler.com - November 7, 2013)

MANILA, Philippines News anchor Arnold Clavio admitted he went beyond his
limits when he interviewed Janet Lim-Napoles' lawyer Alfredo Villamor in the GMA7
morning news show "Unang Hirit."

Clavio asked the public for understanding, two days after his interview sparked
social media outrage.

In the November 7 telephone interview, Villamor told Clavio he represented
Napoles only for her serious illegal detention case. He said he was not in the position to
answer any questions related to the pork barrel scam. Clavio demanded to know who
could answer questions, and interrupted Villamor when he said it was another lawyer.

Clavio then said Villamor had ruined his day, and continued to interrupt as
Villamor reiterated again he was not the lawyer for the PDAF cases. In a tone that
seemed both contemptuous and sarcastic, Clavio informed Villamor that the question
had already been changed to the serious illegal detention case, and then censured
Villamor for what sounded like nervous laughter at the other end of the line. "And you're
even laughing?"

'The only laywer we knew'

In his statement, Clavio said that Villamor was the only lawyer that they knew
remained Napoles' counsel that the program had hoped to extract as much information
as possible about the hearing.

The anchor said his actions were driven by his desire to provide the public with
information regarding alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles' senate
hearing. He did not explicitly apologize, although he admitted to the possibility he may
have overstepped boundaries.

The following is the text of his short statement.

"Mga Kapuso, sa mga nakapanood po sa naging interview ko no'ng Martes, ang
tanging intensyon po lamang, na tulad po ninyo, ay makakuha ng impormasyon kay Atty
Alfredo Villamor patungkol po sa pagpunta ni Ms. Janet Lim-Napoles sa senado.

Sa ngayon, siya lamang ang kilala naming natitirang abogado ni Janet Lim-
Napoles kaya siya lamang po ang kinausap namin, na umaasang makakuha ng
impormasyon tungkol sa nasabing senate hearing.

Sa sidhi kong malaman ang balita, inaamin ko po na lumampas ako sa aking
limitasyon at humihingi ako ng unawa kung may nasabi man ako na wala sa lugar."

(To the viewers of GMA7, to all those who watched my interview last Tuesday,
my only intention was, the same as for all of you, to acquire information from Atty
Alfredo Villamor regarding Ms. Janet Lim-Napoles' visit to the senate.

As of now, he is the only laywer we know who remains to defend Janet Lim-
Napoles, and it is why he is the only man we spoke to in the hope we could extract
information about the said senate hearing.

In my intense determination to find the story, I admit I went beyond my
limitations, and I ask for understanding if there was anything I said that was out of
place.)

Public furor

On the day of the interview, netizens cried foul, saying Clavio's actions were
"rude" and "unprofessional.Arnold Clavio" trended on Twitter, along with hashtags
"#medyorude" (a bit rude) and "#medyobadboy" (a bit of a bad boy).

Vice Ganda fires back

The following day, rival Abs-cbn's noontime variety show featured a spoof by
comedian Vice Ganda. He pretended to argue with a lawyer about the ownership of a
car.

Earlier this year, Clavio scolded the comedian after Vice Ganda performed a
rape joke aimed at GMA7 News Head Jessica Soho.

This was not the first time Clavio has been at the center of social media anger. In
2012, also on "Unang Hirit," Clavio criticized members of the Azkals, the national
football team.

He said the players were only pretending to be brown-skinned, and were not
genuine Filipinos.

MTRCB fines Unang Hirit over Clavio incident
(By NR Ramos, mb.com.ph December 7, 2013)

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has meted
morning talk show Unang Hirit a fine of P20,000 as part of an Ad Hoc Committee
ruling relating to an episode where host Arnold Clavio was alleged to have displayed
indecorous language and behavior in interviewing lawyer Alfredo Villamor.

The ad hoc committee, led by chairman Noel del Pardo along with members
Carmen Musngi and Jose Romero, stated in the ruling published on Dec. 5 via Twitter
that the incident, viewed against contemporary Filipino cultural values particularly
respect for the dignity of the human person runs contrary to good customs.

It added that neither the program nor Mr. Clavio, as well as any officer or staff of
the program, can insist on eliciting statements from Atty. Villamor, or any lawyer for that
matter, as regards matters beyond the latters professional engagement.

That would be tantamount to making counsel commit an ethical violation, a
wrong not allowed under our laws, it explained.

It goes without saying that with ample preparation and prudence the program
and Mr. Clavio would have been able to treat Mr. Villamor with more respect and
courtesy.

To this end, The ad hoc committee ordered the show to undergo a period of
close collaboration of one month with the MTRCB.

It also required GMA Network executives and the executive producer, director,
writer, hosts of Unang Hirit to undergo a mandatory seminar to be conducted by
MTRCB chair Eugenio Toto Villareal on Dec. 10 and 11 at the MTRCB office.

On Nov. 5, Villamor, legal counsel to scam suspect Janet Napoles, made himself
available to Unang Hirit for a phone patch interview, in the course of which, he found
himself in the center of Clavios ire.

Clavios treatment of Villamor wherein he remarked pangsira ng araw during
the interview, made waves on social media, with netizens lambasting the TV host-
anchor for his alleged rude behavior.

Some two days later, Clavio acknowledged that he might have gone overboard
with his treatment of Villamor, going on to ask understanding from his public.

Conclusions/Criticisms:
Orourke says that business ethics is multi-leveled. Its three levels of inquiry are
on the Individual, Organizational, and the Business system. The case presents mainly
on the Individual level, although it also affects the Organizational and the Business
system.
Arnold Clavio has not only been rude to Atty. Villamor on the interview, but he
was also putting his personal interests ahead by going beyond his limitations and
questioning Atty. Villamor about the pork barrel case even though he made it clear that
he can only represent Napoles on the serious illegal detention case beforehand.
Orourke also states that effective management communication is not only a
means to an end (a way to convey the principles) but an end in itself (ethical
communication is a fundamental principle guiding management behavior).
Clavios official statement two days after the interview called for public
understanding and not an apology. The statement made 72% of Rappler.coms
readers angry, although Atty. Villamor doesnt have any plans of suing Arnold Clavio.
This means that Clavios course of action, calling for a public understanding, and
not an apology, was ineffective.
Table 1.1: Rappler.coms mood meter on the article, Arnold Clavio on Villamor
interview: 'I went beyond my limits'


Appendices:

Appendix 1: Atty. Alfredo Villamor, lawyer of Janet Napoles

Appendix 2: Arnold Clavios official statement on Unang Hirit