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Friday, November 11, 2005
Arroyo hits media anew over focus on bad news
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is at it again. That is, making the media the object of her ire.
Arroyo told the local press to shun its "bad boy" image and be "responsible" by reporting on the good news about the economy instead of allowing itself to be used in political games and destabilization plots.
Arroyo made the appeal, her third tirade against the media in two weeks, during the 31st top-level management conference of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) in Baguio City.
"Today, I call on you: Let us cast aside the 'bad boy' image that the press has acquired. Let us restore its glory as the 'responsible son' of a democratic nation. I appeal to you not to be used wittingly or unwittingly as pawns in political games or destabilization schemes," she said.
"The coverage of kangaroo courts, lynch mobs, and witch hunts assails the peace of mind and the hopes of our people. The public wants winners. I know you know that, because you're always looking at ratings. The economy is the only winner here today amidst these losers who carry no public mandate," she added.
She said there are many positive developments not extensively covered by media, such as the economic take-off that the country is experiencing as shown by the strong peso and stock market and the P37 billion savings from debt service.
She invited KBP officers to meet with her economic managers so that they can hear "first hand" the good news about the country and the economy.
Arroyo also defended her disclosure of an intelligence report that broadcast journalist Julius Babao of ABS-CBN was allegedly instrumental in bailing out a terrorist. "Terrorism is evil and I consider my fight against terror as a duty of my presidency," she said.
She told broadcasters to take national security seriously, saying she is "disappointed when the press is overly sensitive of its prerogatives while at the same time many of our journalists arrogated the license to fire away at anybody without even circumstantial evidence."
She said some sectors of the media are "pushing the negative angle of stories too far and too often." She said it would not do for media to be part of the "national malaise and a hindrance to development" rather than an important solution to the country's problems.
"A press that loses credibility as the watchdog of government and society becomes a drag to democracy rather than a force of freedom," she said.
Arroyo told KBP members that she and the broadcasters should do something "constructive" about their closeness in order to shape the country's destiny for the good of everyone.
She also reported to the broadcast media practitioners that 36 cases involving the killings of journalists have either been disposed of or are under trial and that 26 are under investigation or subject of follow up operations.
Arroyo said she wants to think that the P5 million fund that she and House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. put up for reward money and investigation "contributed" to the decline of attacks against journalists.
Based on Arroyo's speech, the PNP Task Force Newsmen, which was formed in July 2004, has so far handled or is handling 62 cases of media killing.
The databases of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Bulatlat, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the defunct Philippine Movement for Press Freedom showed there were 68 cases of media killings from 1986 to May 2005.
Of that number, 32 or close to half took place during the Arroyo administration. It was also during the Arroyo administration that the Philippines gained the title of "Most Dangerous Nation for Journalists Outside War Zones" by international media organizations.
A CMFR article published in the September-October issue of the Philippine Journalism Review stated that since 1986, 54 journalists had been slain in the line of duty while an estimated 17 were killed for reasons not involving their work or a total of 71.
The CMFR study showed that only two of the 54 cases have actually led to convictions. These are the cases of radio station dzMM deskman Alberto Berbon, who was killed in December 1996, and Nesino Paulin Toling, publisher-editor of Ozamiz City's Panguil Bay Monitor, who was killed in April 1991. In both cases, those convicted were the assassins and not the masterminds.
In reaction to Arroyo's tirade, The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said in a statement that the media is just being true to its job of reporting what is going on in the country.
"If ever these reports hurt you or your administration, take a second look before firing your guns, something must be wrong with what your administration has been doing," said Jose Torres Jr., chairman of NUJP's Commission for the Protection of Journalists.
Torres said the P5 million fund that she claims her government has put up for slain journalists "has not been released until now. The quick reaction team has not been formed and most of the cases of killings of journalists have not been solved."
He also said media are doing their best to check and discipline abusive journalists but President Arroyo has "no right to dictate us what stories we report."
"The Philippine media has matured. We know our responsibilities. Without a mature media that reported the excesses of the previous administration, there could have been no Edsa Dos that put you, Madam President, in power," he said.
Torres said the media was not criticizing Arroyo when it reported Julius Babao's denial about bailing out an alleged terrorist. "They were telling you the information you got from your people was wrong. The media were reporting a story," he said.
"Again, we appreciate your effort to fight terrorism, but we would like to point out that journalists were not 'overly sensitive' when we pointed out that you should check your facts before linking people to crimes they didn't commit," he added. (JMR/Sunnex)
(November 11, 2005 issue)
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