On September 1, the United States bureau chief of Philippines-based online news outlet Inquirer.net, Rene Ciria-Cruz, resigned from their post following the unannounced takedown of a news article. The article, originally published on August 29 in the magazine The FilAm, highlighted the alleged donation of USD 1,000,000 to Boston higher education institution Harvard University by House of Representatives speaker Martin Romualdez to fund a new Tagalog language course. The Harvard Crimson, a student publication based at the university, has claimed the donation was instead USD 2,000,000.

On direct orders from outlet management, the piece was removed on August 31. In a statement released on September 19, the outlet defended the takedown in a public statement, claiming the article had overly relied on anonymous sources, and failed to achieve internal quality or reliability standards.

The FilAm has claimed the article was withdrawn due to a familial connection between outlet ownership and Martin Romualdez. Marten, a first cousin of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., is the brother-in-law of Inquirer Group of Companies CEO Sandy Prieto Romualdez.

The move has inspired calls from civil society organisations, who have sought assurance that the alleged donation was not sourced from public funds. In a public statement released on September 17, Romualdez refused to confirm whether he indeed donated to the university.

The NUJP said: “The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) views with concern the takedown by Inquirer.net earlier this month of an article on the alleged $1-million-dollar donation to Harvard University by House Speaker Martin Romualdez.While newsrooms have the editorial prerogative, takedowns of articles, especially potentially inconvenient ones, often raise more questions and generate more attention than the original. […] That the takedown was met with little outcry or follow-up also points to the chill that has pervaded the media community in recent years.”

The IFJ said: “Even if the actions described are indeed benevolent, the retraction of a public interest story is troubling. The IFJ expresses its concern over the takedown orders and calls on Inquirer.net management to dissuade self-censorship through its editorial policy.”