MANILA - The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) on Friday reacted to Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo's statement asking the media to tone down its reports on extrajudicial killings.

Teo earlier claimed that media reports on killings are hurting the tourism sector, with her department having a hard time "selling" the country.

"Secretary Wanda Teo appealed to the media to tone down reports about extrajudicial killings, saying such stories 'make it hard for us to sell the Philippines,'” NUJP said in a statement.

"She is right. How, indeed, do you sell a tropical paradise when you have more than 7,000 deaths and counting and a leader who almost gleefully predicts even more as he wages his 'war on drugs'?" NUJP explained.

"Sadly, Ms. Teo, while we do wish for more tourists to visit and boost our economy, our job is to report what is happening, not sweep this under the rug as part of a PR campaign," NUJP said.

Instead of toning down news reports, NUJP told Teo to ask President Rodrigo Duterte to order an end to extrajudicial killings.

"That way, we could truthfully report that the killing season is over and the Philippines is, well, more fun," NUJP said.