Palace reassures Pinoy Pulitzer winner of assistance

Malacañang on Sunday reassured Jose Antonio Vargas, US-based Pulitzer Prize-winning Filipino journalist, of the Philippine government’s assistance if he should need it. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that while Vargas has not asked the Department of Foreign Affairs for help, Philippine officials in the US are ready to assist him. “Wala pa tayong nare-receive na request for assistance (pero) handa tumulong ang ating mga kasama sa konsulado sa US. Kahit sinong Pilipinong humihingi ng tulong handa tayong magbigay ng assistance," Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. (We have not received any request for assistance from him, but our consulate in the US is ready to help him. Our officials abroad are ready to help any Filipino in need of help.) She added that she “coordinated immediately" with the DFA after learning of Vargas’ predicament. But as of this weekend, she said the DFA said it had not received any request for assistance from Vargas. Earlier, the DFA said Vargas, who turned out as an illegal immigrant in the United States, can seek help from the Philippine government. Vargas shared a Pulitzer Prize with colleagues at the Washington Post for covering the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, the deadliest shooting incident by a single gunman in US history. — KBK, GMA News