Skip to main content

Freedom of Speech

"DE LIMA: FREEDOM OF SPEECH NOT LICENSE TO RUIN CREDIBILITY"(sic).  I could not agree more!  I would just like to understand though whether this statement is really unadulterated or is it just another attempt at bending “morality” where it is convenient.

I seem to remember not long ago the same senator effectively smearing the credibility of some of her colleagues in the government and its institutions, all the while exercising her constitutional right to “Freedom of Speech.”  I have heard claims coming from this Senator about how sure she is that President Duterte is behind DDS and EJK.  In fact, she is so sure that she’s even gone to great lengths of humoring international media with interviews and clamoring for international intervention on our domestic affairs, including imposing sanctions on our nation, all because of the ongoing “government-inspired” EJK.  I have also heard her say, and she is definitely sure about it too, about DOJ fabricating lies and stories against her.  Then there are also statements from her destroying the credibility of witnesses against her, long before they can even be heard.  According to her, some have even been tortured to say things against her -- even before they can ever speak.  All these have resulted to the smearing of our credibility as a sovereign nation spoken under the premise of "Freedom of Speech" and amplified so greatly and sensationally by no other than the media.

This is not to take sides.  The administration has also done its fair share of abusing “Freedom of Speech,” all too conveniently to their advantage, again with the help of the media.  What I am simply just trying to point out here is that freedom of speech is indeed not a license to ruin anyone’s credibility.  Anyone who advocates this, especially at the national and international stage, should “PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACH!”

As for the media outlets, it is becoming more and more obvious that you are always there wherever there is news that presents an opportunity to be sensationalized.  This story is a proof, particularly in the Philippines, that you have outlived your relevance to the society.  The media has been relegated to nothing more than an established institution trying so hard to keep up with what’s trending on social media to maintain its perceived relevance.  The model of “yellow press,” that has arguably played a major role in the Spanish-American War as well as all the other modern-day conflicts like the middle-eastern wars, has now come back biting the media in the ass.  You have played the “sensationalism” card to practically every news article you publish to build up hype and controversy so it sells more.  It has been the model followed for more than a century now.  Well, guess what?  Social Media has beaten you in your own game.  If you really want to maintain relevance, stop playing “yellow journalism” and stop jumping in on the social media bandwagon – social media is our space, not yours! 

There is just too much good news out there that is getting buried in all the noise, due mainly to the media over-sensationalizing irrelevant issues.  Go out there and check the pulse of the Filipino community first hand.  The Filipino expat workforce feels better supported and more at peace.  There are no more incidents of “laglag bala,” no more incidents of ransacked “balik-bayan boxes,” no more cumbersome requirements of OEC for OFWs returning to their job sites. “Bayanihan” is very much alive.  Local and national governments, including the public, are more proactive and cooperative during calamity preparations.  More relief goods are being distributed at times of calamities even before international relief aids reach our shores.  More and more Filipinos are saying that the streets are safer.  The number of petty crimes has gone down according to the data from PNP.  Filipino employees in the tens of thousands have already been regularized in recent weeks.  The businesses are booming.  More and more investments are being pledged.  People in the business community remain very hopeful and positive in the Philippines and the economic environment it provides.  Filipinos feel more empowered, are more hopeful and are voluntarily embracing a more disciplined and dignified way of life.  More and more parents are taking responsibility, forcibly or otherwise, on the upbringing and of the future of their children.   Even the younger generations are now finding inspiration and hope for a better tomorrow.  Most importantly, illegal drugs no longer litter our streets.  With all these things that take center stage on the social media airwaves, I cannot help but ask, where the hell are all these in actual media reports?  Does the media really honestly believe that this report, "DE LIMA: FREEDOM OF SPEECH NOT LICENSE TO RUIN CREDIBILITY" actually deserves more airtime than all accomplishments the government, collectively, has achieved in the last 100 days or so?  If you do, then you deserve a Pulitzer Prize in recognition of your embodiment of the ideals of “yellow journalism,” made famous by the great Joseph Pulitzer himself.

Nowadays, you really cannot tell which reports to believe or not.  But at least in the Philippines, one thing is very clear -- change is happening.  The government is cleaning, or at least appears to be cleaning, its own backyard of corruption.  The law enforcement is weeding its own ranks of scalawags.  Heck, even the drug rings are clearing their own houses of loose assets viewed as potential liabilities – a cleaning project that compounds the numbers reported as extra-judicial killings.  Do these changes really point towards a better Philippines, or a far worse one?  Will it usher a new era of peace and development in our country, or will it completely completely suck us in to a black hole of total  and utter insignificance?  Only time will tell.  We have to give these changes time to unfold, if we want to truly see where they take us.  Until then, we can never truly know.  But this I know for sure -- any time and effort put into spring cleaning can only result to something good.  Many Filipinos would swear that they already feel the benefits of it and it’s only just begun.  Maybe it is time media does a spring cleaning of its own.  And maybe, just maybe, it gets back to the path of relevance.


Comments

Post a Comment

What people are reading...

How the Poor Live

One day, a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad.” “Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked. “Oh yeah,” said the son. “So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have wall...
Post a Comment
Read more

The World is a Wonderful Place

A true story, happened in 1892 at Stanford University: An 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck and the boys began to work to make the concert a success. The big day arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honour the cheque at the soonest possible. “No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the cheque, returned the $1600 and told the two boys: “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Fat Lady

By Chong Sheau Ching Hi! How are you?” The woman smiled as she took the seat beside me. She had to lower herself slowly, squeezing her ample bottom into the seat, filling all available space. Positioning herself comfortably, she plopped her enormous arm on our common armrest. Her immensity saturated the space around us, shrinking me and my seat into insignificance. I cringed and reclined towards the window. She leaned towards me and repeated her greeting in an upbeat, friendly voice. Her face towered above my head, forcing me to turn to look at her. “Hi,” I replied with obvious loathing. I turned away to stare out the cabin window, sulking silently about the long hours of discomfort I was going to experience with this monster beside me. She nudged me with her meaty arm. “My name is Laura. I’m from Britain. How about you? Japan?” “Malaysia,” I barked. “I’m so sorry! Will you accept my heartfelt apology? Come, shake my hand. If we’re going to spend six hours side-by-sid...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lesson from the Hedgehogs

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The hedgehogs, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions. After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.
Post a Comment
Read more

What Really Matters in Life?

Mexican Fisherman Meets Harvard MBA  A vacationing American businessman standing on the pier of a quaint coastal fishing village in southern Mexico watched as a small boat with just one young Mexican fisherman pulled into the dock. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. Enjoying the warmth of the early afternoon sun, the American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish. "How long did it take you to catch them?" the American casually asked. "Oh, a few hours," the Mexican fisherman replied. "Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" the American businessman then asked. The Mexican warmly replied, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs." The businessman then became serious, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" Responding with a smile, the Mexican fisherman answered, "I sleep late, play with my children, watch ballgames, and take sies...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Problem with Dandelions

A man who took great pride in his lawn found himself with a large crop of dandelions. He tried every method he knew to get rid of them. Still they plagued him. Finally he wrote to the Department of Agriculture. He enumerated all the things he had tried and closed his letter with the question: "What shall I do now?" In due course, the reply came: "We suggest you learn to love them."
Post a Comment
Read more

A Box of Kisses

Some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty. He yelled at her, “Don’t you know that when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside it?” The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said,”Oh, Daddy, it is not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy.” The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness. It is told that the man kept that gold box by his bed for years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a ve...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Will You Be Remembered?

Someday, you will only be a memory to some people.  Have you ever thought about how you will be remembered? In 1888, a wealthy businessman woke up one day to read his obituary on a French newspaper.  The words were, "Le marchand de la mort est mort" which means, "The merchant of death is dead". The papers went on to say that the man who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.  He, of course, was still very much alive at the time.  This came as a wake up call to the man whose name is tagged to some of the most amazing yet horrible armament inventions of our time. Upon his death, 18 years later after reading his obituary, his family and friends were surprised to find out what he has written on his will.  The man allocated 94% of his total assets to the formation of what is now regarded as one of the most respected foundations in the world.  The man is Dr. Alfred Bernhard Nobel,  the man behind the Nobe...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Sense of Goose

by Dr. Harry Clarke Noyes  ARCS NEWS, Vol. 7, No. 1, January 1992  Next  fall, when  you see Geese  heading South for  the Winter, flying along  in V formation, you might  consider what science has dis‐  covered as to why they fly that way:  as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an  uplift for the bird immediately following. By  flying in V formation the whole flock adds at least  71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.  People who share a common direction and sense of community  can get where they are going more quickly and easily  because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.  When  a goose falls  out of formation,  it suddenly feels the drag  and resistance of trying to go it alone  and quickly gets back into formation to take  advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front....
Post a Comment
Read more