Philippine media is under threat.
Never in the history of the Philippine Press have we witnessed so many reporters, news anchors and news crew arrested in a single event. The Philippine National Police under PNP Chief Avelino Razon set a historical record of “illegally arresting” the highest number of media practitioners in one sweep.
Sadly we now find Philippine media facing veiled threats of criminal charges from the PNP which until last Thursday actually enjoyed a very good relationship with the media in general. In fact, the last few years showcased a PNP that had good public information officers and leadership that seemed to understand and appreciate the value of media in police work.
In the heat of the moment or perhaps because the opportunity presented itself, the law enforcers exercised what they thought was their right. It became a right done wrong.
Instead of just doing their job of arresting people for whatever violation had been made, the police made several confusing statements that merely eroded their authority and credibility. It did not help that certain unnecessary acts were committed such as the “handcuffing” and “manhandling”.
To make matters worse, high ranking officers of the PNP turned petty and childish when they dared media outfits to sue them and in turn threatened to sue members of the media. The whole thing looked like a bunch of street urchins playing “I dare you...” At this point all the media training of the PNP flew out the window.
So far, the mistakes have not stopped. The PNP has served notice to ABS-CBN management to turn over raw footages from the Peninsula incident. First of all the PNP has to state WHY, for what purpose, and under what court order they are making their demands. Someone obviously forgot that the LAW provides that they have to go to a Judge and get a warrant based on actual knowledge of evidence and not based on WITCH-HUNT. Such a mistake cannot be classified as an oversight but as plain and simple IGNORANCE OF THE LAW, ignorance that could or should cost a general his job.
Of course the General can always say “Sorry”, I really thought we already declared martial law!
Simple silence would have put this incident to bed. But the PNP leadership chose to put up a brave if not belligerent attitude not realizing that the more you poke the media the more it will have to defend itself.
The PNP does not seem to realize that to members of Philippine media the incident was not merely some police action. Beyond the “manhandling” and errors, the situation concerns betrayal of trust and friendships. Further and more serious, it concerns our jobs, our profession, our competition, and our constitutionally guaranteed Freedom of Expression.
But the threat does not come from the PNP or the Armed Forces alone. Philippine media also finds itself fragmented for many reasons. First and foremost, media as we know it is more about business than vocation, more about profit than commitment. We have allowed owners to act more like owners than partners, more like bosses than guardians.
In service to the nation has been replaced by service to the corporation. Instead of GOD Almighty it is ME Almighty. Ratings have replaced Reason. Sales has replaced Service.
If members of media seemed only too willing to get caught in the crossfire at the Pen, it had nothing to do with being accomplices to a crime. The competitive culture in the profession has reached heights of mindlessness enough to make men and women forget about the value of life, about their children or loved ones, enough to even disregard the law.
Unfortunately many media practitioners are trying to find life in a place where they are only suppose to be making a living. Every catastrophe, every conflict they cover gives them some short term rush, a momentary reaffirmation of the choices they made, the things they gave up.
There was no real act to obstruct justice either. Those inside the Peninsula were not trying to protect Trillanes but were more concerned in obstructing the competition or showing to the world and their bosses how dedicated they were and deserving of their own primetime programs.
In hindsight we now see all those individuals getting more primetime exposure. During the Oakwood mutiny, a second line radio reporter, Alvin Elchico imbedded himself with the mutineers. He gave ABS-CBN the advantage and he gained recognition in terms of assignments and air time. Come to think of it, no one ever mentioned the word obstruction of justice.
Adding to media’s woes we have associations and institutions that are more about self promotion and self sustenance. Those who would speak in defense of the freedom of expression are now publicly charged with taking liberties with their position and their influence. Even before texters and bloggers became fashionable, the guardians of media abandoned their responsibility to preserve the integrity and professionalism of the craft. They shamelessly accept advertisements paid with taxpayers’ money while condemning government officials for stealing public funds. Their programs attack business while openly airing advertisements from competitors.
But of all the sins committed by the Philippine media the gravest of all is to turn against each other. The executives sold us the poison pill that competition is good. They convinced us to spit at the competition. They made us bow to the God of Ratings, turned some of us into circus clowns.
All along, they put up their own owners’ organizations and like Caligula laughed while pitting us against each other in the air waves.
We are the clear and present danger to ourselves. Unless we step back and confess our “sin” of selfishness and pride, it won’t be long before dialogues such as the one being spearheaded by Vice President Noli De Castro turn into our own suicides.
Did anyone even consider that such a dialogue applies only to those willing to attend and abide or were invited? Did anyone even consider that drawing up “terms” of engagement is tantamount to making a “law” abridging the freedom of “speech” which is prohibited by constitutions worldwide? And what about foreign journalists who are not party to such idealistic ignorance?
If we need to be told how to do our job, if we need to be reminded of our responsibilities, then there is neither point nor basis to call ourselves as professional media practitioners.
Come to think of it, I stand corrected. We are no longer under threat, we are under attack and no one is crying rape!