A revolution of the heart

The Philippine STAR is celebrating its 35th year this month. The newspaper was founded during the years of the People Power Revolution, when the Philippines was fighting for renewed democracy and freedom of the press. Its role in the country is to continue to balance fearless news guided by its tagline, “The truth shall prevail.”

Our present political environment has the makings of a threatened democracy, so much so that when former president Benigno Aquino III died a few weeks ago, the rise of patriotic fervor was rekindled and intensely felt by the nation.

Where is our country headed to? There is a very strong revolution happening within our political landscape. Our leaders are forgetting to protect the interest of our land and our people. As my late father Maximo V. Soliven once wrote, what we need is not a revolution with arms using power and might but a “revolution of the heart.”

Let me share with you some excerpts from his past columns and speeches on this anniversary issue on the rule of law, honest news, fearless views and press freedom.

On the role of media in society: “What Asians have in common is that they respect authority, believe that leaders must be strong, and that they possess patience and tolerance towards despotism, that a Westerner normally cannot comprehend. Should the role of the press in Asia be one of media versus government? Should it be one of cooperation – or must the media take an adversarial stance? Can editors and reporters work successfully hand in hand with government, or must they, particularly in controlled societies, risk themselves to publish what they believe is to be the truth? The English phrase, ‘publish and be dammed’ comes readily to mind. For, often, in most Asian countries, to publish the awful truth is to be dammed.”

On Asian writers: “When I was a young student editor, it seems like centuries ago, our motto in the College Editors Guild was a brave and even pompous one: ‘A drop of ink makes millions think.’ Later in life, having eaten of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (a mistake which resulted in Adam and Eve being driven from paradise) and, having covered many Asian countries, I have come to realize that writers must think twice, indeed, before he commits his own thoughts to that drop of ink.”

On Martial Law: “Little did we know, in our arrogance, that within one year, President Ferdinand Marcos would declare ‘martial law,’ throw dozens of editors, columnists and journalists, as well as political enemies, labor leaders, professors, students and other critics, into military prison, and proclaim a Bagong Lipunan (a “New Society”) which was nothing more or less than the old Bung Karno’s type of guided democracy. I was among the hundreds who were arrested in the dead of night in the first hours of martial law and slapped into maximum security prison in Fort Bonifacio, the headquarters of the Philippine Army.”

On journalists: “Nobody enjoys criticism, least of all leaders of government. Journalistic gadflies, therefore, are unwelcome even in such supposedly enlightened ‘democracies’ as the United States, Great Britain, France and Scandinavia. Less so, for that matter in Asia, Hong Kong included, where authoritarianism reigns. By the same token, journalists are far from perfect. It can be pointed out that nobody anointed them to be messiahs, or arbiters of culture and civilization, defenders of public morality and critics of government and society, except themselves. It has already been repeated, ad infinitum, that while lawyers have to take the Bar examination to qualify to practice, doctors must hurdle medical board exams, dentists must pass similar examinations to qualify and even veterinarians, no journalist is required to take a test, not even a psychological examination, before inflicting himself on the world. Politicians love to underscore that newspapermen or media persons were never elected by the people to public office, as they (the politicians) were, and thereby have no license to preach. On the other hand, as Lee Iacocca pointed out in his bestselling book, journalists and radio-TV media persons are “elected” every single day of the year. The disgruntled reader, who finds fault with the reportage or the editorializing of a newspaper, can simply refuse to buy the next copy. A newspaper without circulation soon withers on the vine. Retaliation comes even more swiftly in the case of television and radio newscasters and commentators. The disappointed viewer or listener can simply switch off, cutting off a commentator in mid-sentence, or switch over to another station or another channel.”

On press freedom: “Everybody likes to say, as though it is axiomatic, that the press is free in the Philippines, usually tacking on the observation that, sometimes, it is too free. The second twice-told allegation about Filipinos is that our democracy is too chaotic and that a bigger dose of discipline would work wonders for both society and the economy.”

In 1997, when my late father addressed the 6th National Convention of Lawyers and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines at Cebu’s Grand Convention Center, he called on the delegates from the legal profession to have the courage to reform and revitalize the nation’s justice system.

He said, “When public confidence in the dispensation of justice and the rule of law (not of lawyers) is at an all-time low, and even the Supreme Court itself is under a cloud, then our democracy is on the rocks. What we need in this country is a revolution – not one of violence or of arms, but a Revolution of the Heart. We talk about the heroism of the EDSA barricades. There is a greater, far more difficult heroism which is demanded of you, lawyers and defenders of justice of our nation – the everyday heroism of having the guts to stand up for your principles and for the oppressed, to say ‘no’ to easy fixes, to risk unpopularity and even retribution for speaking out against injustice, judicial corruption and evil.”

Indeed, these are very timely thoughts from someone long gone, but whose love for country cannot be equalled nor surpassed.