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IT is
strange, although expected, that the media would
vehemently object to any bill that would give
individuals who suffer from unbridled media attacks the
right to respond. During my second term as a
congressman, I was the first to file a bill seeking the
right to be given space and airtime to reply to media
attacks, but it was vigorously opposed by media groups,
and my proposal failed to pass. Now, here is the
Pimentel bill, which I understand already passed the
Senate, which is raising the temperatures of the high
and mighty in the media. I don’t know why the media
want to stifle any form of dissent against their almost
licentious use of newspaper pages and broadcast airtime
to besmirch the reputations of individuals by opposing
this proposed right-to-reply measure.
First,
the media want to decriminalize the libel law, and when
members of the media are charged with libel, they cry
“harassment” or “violation of press freedom.” Now, the
media want to kill the bill which would give hapless
subjects of media attacks the right to defend
themselves, which means that the media want absolute
freedom to besmirch and insult innocent individuals,
especially those in government, without any risk of
legitimate retaliation. By granting individuals the
right to reply to media attacks, justice becomes a
two-way street.
During
the French Revolution, the cry of many an innocent who
suffered from unjust and whimsical persecution during
those critical times was, “Oh, Liberty, how many crimes
have been committed in thy name?” Today in the
Philippines, where the media are so free and powerful,
including media practitioners who are noted to “attack,
collect and defend, collect,” one can get assassinated
in newspapers or over radio and/or TV with no
accountability on the part of the character assassins.
****
I
watched the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)
games showing team Air21 Express going down in defeat
and three of their players thrown out of the game for
extremely rough play. Air21 was defeated, which piqued
its composure, by a newcomer team—Rain or Shine.
Through their actions and body language, Air 21 players
indicated they would rather wrestle in the octagon
rather than play in the court, exemplifying not
sportsmanship but their own style of kick-boxing with a
splash of kung fu. The referees were correct in
throwing some of their players out of the court but,
perhaps, the PBA management should impose stronger
sanctions against Air21’s overanxious players in their
blatant disregard of the rules of the game and fair
play.
****
The
Ombudsman ordered the suspension and/or dismissal of 30
Metro Manila policemen for various offenses. This
action should be lauded because, it says in part, late
in the day though it is, that we are moving hammer and
thongs against rogue policemen who are the prime reason
for the failure of the peace and order situation in many
of our communities, as well as for the loss of
confidence of the people in our police force. In view
of this, I take this opportunity to again call the
attention of Interior Secretary Ronnie Puno and Police
chief Jess Verzosa, regarding my strong recommendation
that abusive rogue Iloilo City policemen should be
relieved and sent post-haste to the battle zones in
Mindanao so that we will be rid of these cops who are
protectors of drug lords and crime syndicates. I
communicated this outcry of my fellow Ilonggos to
Secretary Puno some three months earlier, as well as to
then-Police Chief Avelino Razon but until now, not one
rogue policeman has been relieved in Iloilo City. In
fact, one of these notorious policemen had the gall to
file a case against me for standing up to their abuses
in behalf of my beloved city. When will I see a
satisfactory response from the DILG and the PNP? The
ball is in your court and the people of Iloilo City
await your speedy action.
****
This
column observed earlier the sudden liquidity of the
Yuchengco Group when it announced its intention to buy
Philamlife when all the time this company that owns
Pacific Plans is saying to its preneed plan- holders
that it has no money to pay the poor parents who toiled
day and night to provide for and ensure the college
education of their children. Now that blue-chip
Philamlife is on the block, the Yuchengcos indicated
they have the money to buy out the insurance company.
But no, said Pacific Plan policyholders, who are
badgering the Yuchengcos to show some corporate
responsibility by paying their debts first before going
on a shopping spree. I believe this boils down to
having a bit of decency in our business dealings, not
because business is purely impersonal as money but more
so because of the humane aspect involved.
****
The
British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) TV skit Harry and Paul
deserves the condemnation of Filipinos for depicting
Filipino domestic helpers abroad as nothing but toys and
puppets to their employers who exploit, humiliate and
abuse our compatriots according to the whims of their
foreign masters. We urge Foreign Secretary Alberto
Romulo to lodge a diplomatic complaint with the British
ambassador and seek an apology from BBC. The skit is
revolting and purely racist and contrary to our cordial
relationship with Britain.
On the
other hand, we, too, are partly to blame. We love to
ridicule ourselves, our government, our country, and
boast of our inequities to the whole world in the front
pages of newspapers and in broadcast media. As the
Italian ambassador once pointed out to me, we love to
flagellate ourselves and throw muck at our president and
our leaders. If we are perceived to be like dirt
abroad, it’s because we insist to be treated like dirt.
It is time that we come to realize that our country is
now getting the accolades of other nations because we
remain economically strong despite the financial turmoil
now rocking the Caucasian world. It is time to keep our
heads high!
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