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

What people are reading...

Philippines Withdraws from the ICC

Woke up today to the news that the Philippines is finally pulling out of the ICC. The mainstream media, as expected, started looking into the legitimacy of the act while taking the opportunity to once again throw the EJK trash in the equation, still hoping that the shit would stick somewhere, somehow.  It's already been 19 months that they have been trying the same approach, with some help from their friends - the political minority, the human rights groups, the UN HR, and lately, the ICC.

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...

Lost Wallet, A Great Love Story

As I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been in there for years. The envelope was worn and the only thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the letter, hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline–1924. The letter had been written almost 60 years ago. It was written in a beautiful feminine handwriting on powder blue stationery with a little flower in the left-hand corner. It was a “Dear John” letter that told the recipient, whose name appeared to be Michael, that the writer could not see him anymore because her mother forbade it. Even so, she wrote that she would always love him. It was signed, Hannah. It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way except for the name Michael, that the owner could be identified. May...

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...

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."

Philippine Election 2019: A Case for Migration

There has been a number of story runs on the media the past couple of days regarding the search keywords ‘migrate’ and ‘migrating’ trending HARD soon after the election.   Seeing that it involved data analytics and number crunching, which is a passion of mine and is a good part of my day job for the past 17 years, it immediately struck a chord.   I first saw it on Rappler. I read through the article and, as soon as I was done, searched online to see what other agencies ran the story and how they presented it. Using google search tools, I saw the first run of the story is by Davinci Maru of ABS-CBN at 11:47pm on May 13, 2019, entitled “Dismayed at initial poll results, Filipinos search for ‘migrate’ online.   Then the Philippine Star soon followed, with a more detailed account of the interview.   To give credit where credit is due, of all the story runs, only the Philippine Star article actually provided more useable content, rather than the usual strategy emp...

History: The Battle of Bataan

These are the writings on the wall of the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) in Mt. Samat, Pilar, Bataan - a monument built to remember and to celebrate the resilience of the human spirit.  Reading through the inscriptions sent chills to my bones.  It makes me proud to be a Filipino, even more so being a Bataenyo (a native of Bataan).  Let this be a reminder to us all, of the valor and the glory of our roots.  We shall not forget...  "Our mission is to remember."   Photo by Irwin Richard Dizon The Battle of Bataan On this ground gallant men chose to die than surrender. From all corners of the Philippines they came, youthful and brave, to make their last stand in Bataan against an implacable enemy which had marched through Asia. What transpired was a ferocious combat between raw, ill-equipped recruits against seasoned, well-armed troops.

New Year Resolutions

Another year is over. Before the hands of time struck the final minute of 2012, we all had a clear vision of what we wanted for our 2013 -- the so called "New Year Resolutions". Some made a promise to live healthier e.g. lose weight, stop smoking, etc. Others have more abstract resolutions like, "will be happier", "will smile more", "will be more sensitive", etc. And there are others like me with a very simple resolution, go on a "no rice diet". In the business lingo, this goal makes a lot of sense because it is SMART (S=specific, M=measurable, A=attainable, R=relevant and T=timely). There is no way this cannot succeed as it makes for a perfect goal. However, there was a big flaw in the plan -- as the clock struck twelve, I had my right hand flexing its muscles with a spoonful of rice. Need I say more? To make long story short, I was doomed to fail from the get go. And so I welcomed 2013 with a broken promise.

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...

Obstruction of Persecution

There is something fundamentally wrong with the state of affairs in our country right now that makes it awfully hard for anyone to be neutral.  I personally have tried for so long to remain objective in interpreting the news.  I have always believed that no matter how flawed our justice system may be, we should always put our trust in our government and in our institutions to somehow work for us, the people.  After all, if we just simply say the institutions are corrupt and we no longer honor them, we condemn our society to eternal chaos.  A flawed system is better than no system at all.  And so for lack of clear strategy to address fundamental system flaws, every administration for years has maintained the status quo in order not to rock the boat. The rise of Duterte to power has rocked the boat and has disrupted the status quo.  Flaws within the systems are exposed.  Social classes are challenged.  Power and influence struggles ensued. ...