Never forget

It was a grim night on September 21, 1972 when then President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law throughout the entire country. For whatever basis only he would understand, the military was on a roll to perform its duties. Freedom, at that time, was unheard of. It was a dark and gloomy era where Filipinos had to be very careful in their daily lives as they were under the watchful eye of a dictator. Based on accounts of those who survived those years, it was far from being golden.

That is the sad reality of the power of the media. It can allow people to believe in the crooked truth. With a beautifully-packaged material, the psyche would be bent over the truth being presented even without citation of proper sources or consuming a balanced story. Heck, other internet users wouldn't even bother to see two sides of the story because the presentation for them has already convinced them enough.

I guess that is why until today, the youth do not have a spark or two against martial law or the years of the Marcoses. When Toni Gonzaga's video where she interviewed Bongbong Marcos trended on social media, I knew she was going to be in trouble. I did not watch the video myself, as it does not interest me. But based on the different social media posts, it is to teach us that when we talk about sensitive topics about the regime of his father it is better to not just see one side of a story.

Then they argue that Gonzaga is not a journalist, but an entertainer at that. Yet isn't she responsible for the opinions that are going to be shaped after the consumption of the material? Shouldn't we hold her accountable for that? It is very important to note that regardless if it is journalism or not, using platforms to convey a message is a huge responsibility. Hence, the need to educate everyone on media literacy.

Good for her, she gets away with free publicity that would probably launch her YouTube channel to more views, which translates to bigger monetary value. We gave her that, because of how an interview was conducted. To me, it was more than just a casual interview but being insensitive to those years when the country was entirely crippled. What would an ordinary citizen do with infrastructure projects and a good economy when your life and liberty is at stake? These would probably be of no value.

We are also celebrating Press Freedom Week, a concept that we keep on questioning until today. The days of martial law may be over but we are feeling it on a different level. This might be democracy at its finest when the leader of the country could get away with anything he wants. As a victim of his wrath which cost my former company to cease operations in the region, I am calling for every young eligible voter to thoroughly study their choices for 2022.