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Monday, November 14, 2005
Penaflorida: Good Girl Gloria?
By Atty. Jobert Penaflorida
On the Spot!
NOT contended with her offensive against broadcaster Julius Babao, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has now taken a bolder, more combative stand against Philippine media in general.
In her speech during a top-level conference of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP), the President castigated members of media and exhorted the fourth estate to cast aside its "bad boy" image and not allow itself to be used as pawns in political games or destabilization schemes.
Ms Arroyo showed everyone how brave and daring she can get by looking at her perceived "enemies" eyeball-to-eyeball and, without batting an eyelash, giving them a public tongue-lashing.
By collectively, directly and categorically calling media as a bad boy, Ms Arroyo seems to be saying that with media as the hateful villain, she is, on the other hand, the good girl - the innocent and pitiful damsel in distress that should be protected from the attacks of her vicious opponents.
But at this point, does the President have any moral ascendancy to criticize and reprimand anyone? The latest statement of Ms Arroyo simply showed that she needs to undergo a reality check. It appears that, insofar as Gloria is concerned, anybody who opposes her view is a spoiler, a de-stabilizer and, worse, a terrorist.
In the same KBP conference, the President suggested that media should stop covering activities of opposition groups, including the recently-convened people's court, saying that the public wants news about "winners," not "losers."
Again, the President needs another round of reality check. Considering that the very legitimacy of her own presidency is now being questioned, after the Hello Garci scandal broke off and after she and her cohorts had moved heaven and earth to abort the impeachment process, can she conscientiously claim to be a "winner"?
Admittedly, there are bad eggs in the media profession, especially those who blatantly engaged in the lucrative "AC-DC" business of Attack-Collect and Defend-Collect. But I continue to maintain the view that the greater majority remain to be decent, hardworking, sensible, fair and objective. Media, after all, simply mirrors the real state of society.
We write and broadcast events as they happen, where they happen, how they happen. Without a fair and honest media, we will forever live in a world of fantasy, of make believe, where only the Imeldific-version of the good and the beautiful are reported. Is Mrs. Arroyo now insinuating that we go back to the dreaded Marcosian era where all the "good" news that we read every day are "praise releases" of the conjugal dictatorship?
Indubitably, the press remains the strong vanguard of Philippine democracy. When Marcos wanted to gain absolute power and to declare Martial law, he did not only abolish Congress, he had to padlock media and had to sequester all publications, radio and television stations. But Marcos was only successful in suppressing media up to a certain extent.
While his cronies were able to take over all media entities, Marcos was not able to stop the mushrooming of the "underground" press. The discreet publications and even the photocopied materials which were critical of the Marcos regime were "gospel" to a people hungry for truth and justice.
Ms Arroyo may have been successful in preventing the impeachment proceeding in Congress. Thanks (or no thanks) to many of our self-serving legislators who put their interests ahead of the country. Now, Gloria wants to put a gag on media. Her tirades on media simply bolstered the suspicion in our people's minds that Gloria is afraid that media will unearth more damaging revelations against her. By attacking media and making it as a scapegoat, all the more that people are convinced that the President is hiding something.
Indeed, is Gloria afraid of the Truth? /For comments and reactions, email at attyjobertpenaflorida@yahoo.com.
(November 14, 2005 issue)
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