It said President Rodrigo Duterte's office was given enough time to air its comment. The allegations prompted Harry Roque, a spokesperson for the president's office, to pan the news organization, which he said gave them only one hour to respond to the story's contents. "The claim that Reuters gave the president’s office just an hour to respond is untrue," the wire agency said in a statement. Reuters said that questions were sent to Duterte's office a week before the publication of the story, and it confirmed receiving the queries. The agency said it followed up with phone calls and emails, but the president's office never responded to its questions.

Source: Philippine Star December 21, 2017 13:30 UTC