Covering an Environmental Disaster

Television gave viewers nationwide a close look at the Guimaras oil spill.
It turned out to be the biggest news story for the local news program Ratsada of GMA and TV Patrol of ABS-CBN.
Gemma Villanueva, desk editor of TV Patrol in Iloilo, said she received an advisory from Manila to cover the unfolding story as an environmental issue. She said the TV Patrol   team was the first to reach the scene and break the story.
Ratsada’s senior editor Rexcel John Sorza said no guidelines were issued by their mother network, but the local journalists’ news sense told them that their audience needed to know the impact of the spill.
“We reported from many pers-pectives—the environment, health and science. We were the first local news organization to seek out an oceano-grapher, a mangrove scientist, and an economist,” said Sorza.
TV Patrol  came up with human interest stories that Villanueva called “people stories.” They were presented from the point of view of the affected sectors: fishermen, women, children, and village officials. Most of these stories were aired on the second and third week after the oil spill.
But the two news programs had common stories, and these were usually the statements by government officials on the oil spill.
TV Patrol conducted live interviews with government and Petron officials. Villanueva said both parties were sought for comments whenever controversies arose, such as when Petron’s assess-ment of the clean-up efforts was disputed by environment groups.
The oil spill coverage has taxed the newsroom’s budget of both stations.
Villanueva said a team needed at least P2,000 just to hire a motorized boat to Guimaras.
At the same time, both news programs called for donations to help the affected communities. Reporters themselves handed out bags of rice, noodles, canned sardines, and used clothes to victims of the disaster.
Sorza said that taking donations to the communities got in the way of reporting because newsroom personnel had to pack and ferry the goods to Guimaras.
“When viewers saw the extent of the spill, they called us up and asked where to send their help. And so we launched Bulig Kapuso (Help from Kapuso) to receive boxes of clothes, canned foods, and noodles,” said Sorza.
Both news organizations tried to be careful with their reporting, avoiding ethical minefields in covering the oil spill.
Villanueva said that although ABS-CBN Foundation and Petron Foundation had worked together in the past, TV Patrol   tried to be objective and balanced in its reporting. Ratsada maintained its independence by not allowing itself to be swayed by Manila-based and local publicists hired by Petron, said Sorza.
Although the Guimaras oil spill is no longer on top of the news agenda, Ratsada and TV Patrol still report updates. Sorza said that there are still many stories to be written, such as the amount of money that was released for research and relief, and the results of the rehabilitation efforts.
“Transparency and accounta-bility are stories we will pursue,” he said.—Ma. Diosa Labiste

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