Malacañang: We respect Pulitzer decision to cite drug war photog

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Malacañang respects the decision of the Pulitzer Prize Board after a New York Times photographer won the prestigious award for his coverage of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “brutal” war on illegal drugs.

Australian photojournalist Daniel Berehulak has won 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography for his picture in the multimedia story “They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals.”

“The Pulitzer Prize Board has its own criteria and selection process and we respect their decision on this matter,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement on Tuesday.

READ: New York Times lensman bags Pulitzer for PH drug war coverage

Abella said “the Western press has been highly critical of the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drug traffickers and violators.”

The New York Times has released articles critical of Duterte and his non-nonsense war against illegal drugs.

Abella earlier called their article “Becoming Duterte: The Making of a Philippine Strongman” as a “well-paid hack job.”

The Palace official blasted it for linking Duterte’s rise to power to violence.

Duterte has lambasted media organizations and their reports critical to his drug war, saying their stories were “slanted” against him. CBB