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Monday, July 24, 2006
Editorial: Putting things in proper perspective
COUNCILOR Jocelle Batapa-Sigue was reported over the weekend as defining the "real media" and "not media" in the privilege speech she delivered before the City Council last week.
Sadly though, her definition was too poor and more of a self-serving and self-preserving explanation.
The real media, if her definition is to be followed, are those who would pat her in the back for putting the lives of young media practitioners to an unnecessary risk when she attempted to rescue a 15-year-old Bacoleña from employment in Cavite.
The "not media" would refer to those who criticized her for putting her life and those who went with her without taking the necessary precautions in rescue operations.
It wasn't a job well done. In fact, it was a botched and poorly planned rescue operation. More of seeking media mileage than real.
As has been pointed out earlier in these pages, there is no argument on the need to rescue the young Bacoleñas who are said to have been working at a prostitution den in Laguna province. But everything must be done in its proper perspective.
To do the rescue, the rescuers, if we are to call them that, must first take custody of the 15-year-old Bacoleña who was working with the family of a Cavite town vice mayor.
If the Councilor was really intent on rescuing the girls, she could have asked the assistance of the law enforcement agencies, who are more adept and knowledgeable in this kind of acts, a long time ago.
It appeared that the call for help arrived at her desk weeks before the trip. She did not.
Instead she brought eight members of the Bacolod media community without even informing their supervisors of what their workers were really up to. Several more from ABS-CBN in Manila were also invited. The operation looked more of a show than a rescue.
Would asking the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for help be too hard for her to do? Will the Councilor be congratulated for endangering the lives of reporters and other media practitioners? We don't think so.
We can only laud a public official if that official comes to know the value of honesty, honor and integrity when inviting journalists.
We can only salute that official when media managers are at least informed of what their reporters or representatives will be tasked to do once on the trip.
When this is not clearly pointed out, the element of deceit and malice comes in. And that's what exactly happened in Councilor Batapa-Sigue's act.
(July 24, 2006 issue)
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