Friday, March 16, 2007 Seares: That summit,this press By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
SOMETIME last November, when preparations for the Asean summit in Cebu were feverish, Marciano Paynor, then chief organizer, took a dig at local media.
"Why can't you take pride in something beautiful about your own Cebu?" Paynor said, defending builders of Cebu International Convention Center whom media coaxed to complete CICC on time.
I don't speak for the media. The Cebu press is multi-person, multi-entity, with diverse thinking and interests, strategies and quirks.
But those of us working with Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) thought the summit deserved help, even from a pesky media.
We felt a sense of community. Though we doubted if we could be "patriotic" to Cebu without being remiss in our job of watching those entrusted with public money.
The summit was used as excuse for big spending and dumping COA rules. Officials cut corners and made extravagance respectable by invoking holy summit's name.
Restraint
Still, CCPC called for restraint in reporting, which was briefly seen in Manila as shameless cop-out by Cebu media. (The critic said "sorry" when he saw in the CCPC request the qualifiers that assured press freedom was not at risk.)
Despite the self-imposed caution by many journalists, there were still persons in government who thought media should not have said anything un-sweet. "Media is nitpicking. What's the big deal about a leaking roof?" No big deal, downpour missed delegates' heads just by a few days.
But summit is gone. Only those high-priced freaking lamps are standing. The Cebu press may now publicize, with no restraint, the thick-faced stealing.
