A MONTH ago, it came to my attention that a certain media personality was going the rounds, attending press conferences , visiting local government units (LGUs) and soliciting money while identifying himself as a representative of SunStar CDO.
It was something I could not let pass so I summoned the guy and gave him a stern warning never to drop our company’s name in any of his engagements. Apparently he continued his "modus" and even circulated falsified documents to solicit sponsorship. Wrong move.
With an evidence at hand, I had to elevate the case to the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) and the president, Mr. Raffy Magbanua, acted promptly on the matter. Last Friday, October 12, an investigation was conducted at COPC office where the suspect was asked to defend himself from the allegations made against him. To make the story short, the guy plead guilty to the crime and resolved to stop it. We are now contemplating our legal options as regards the matter.
As the election season starts with the filing of certificates of candidacy, more and more personalities go the rounds to solicit from vulnerable politicians either in simple forms of asking for fuel to promising airtime and print spaces.
A lot of them are not even officially connected with the companies they identify themselves with. These ‘tulisitations’ tarnish the reputation of media in general and are a big insult to our profession. We should not allow this to perpetuate.
Media plays a very crucial role especially during elections, almost always it is the best time to put our impartiality and objectivity to the test in all our coverage.
For us at SunStar CDO, we always challenge ourselves to maintain a high level of professionalism. On the upcoming midterm elections we commit ourselves to be a provider of a platform for the political parties and candidates to communicate their message to the electorate. In the course of the election season we shall provide ample space for each of those who would run for local office. Our readers need to know who they are voting for.
We will also provide a platform for the public to communicate their opinions on issues that concern them as well as interact on these issues with the running candidates. We are not only on print media, we are also on digital and our presence in social media has gone stronger now. With this, we plan to be more interactive with our readers and with the running politicians as well.
This way we can keep our readers abreast of current events and pressing issues in our locality. We embrace it as our main role to enlighten and educate the public so that they can become well informed voters.
And when the Election day comes, we shall shift our role to become a watchdog and to safeguard the transparency of the election process.
In the meantime, we distance ourselves from rumors, fake news and conspiracies as we serve you with quality and timely news and opinions.
Let it be known as well that only those whose names appear in our editorial box below can officially represent our company in any transaction.