Expensive PR piece

Jeers to the Philippine Daily Inquirer for letting its Dec. 14 “Talk of the Town” special turn into a PR piece for the government’s Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), more popularly known as the Pag-Ibig fund.

“Revisiting Pag-Ibig Fund” was the title of the Dec. 14 special, which can be arguably viewed as opportune timing considering that the fund is now on its 35th year. The piece traced the history of the fund, the international models that served as reference during the formation of the fund, and the fund’s intent—all perfectly understandable background information about a mutual fund program used by millions of Filipinos.

However, the piece stopped short of critiquing the effectiveness of the Fund and whether it can stand some improvement. It just went on enumerating the program’s milestones throughout its history as well as its legacy. “Pag-Ibig Fund should be proud of what it has done to the Philippine housing sector, but it should be prouder if what it can do to housing, it can do to other bigger sectors—a dream come true, with people always being part of a growing economy, with inclusive growth not left to chance or to market forces alone,” the piece wrote. “The past 35 years have proven that Pag-Ibig has what it takes to become an even bigger fund.”

The special’s glowing take on the Pag-Ibig fund was not surprising upon reading the writers’ end bio at the end: Pag-ibig Fund CEO Florencio Orendain and second CEO Marilou Adea.

The “Talk of the Town” special could have been more balanced and informative had it published, alongside Orendain and Adea’s piece, another essay offering an alternative take on the effectiveness of the program. Better yet, the Inquirer could have done its own independent probe analyzing the efficacy of the fund, and published it in its “Talk of the Town” special.

By devoting a whole broadsheet page on how Pag-Ibig fund officials see the fund’s usefulness, an opportunity to truly inform and educate the public on the issue as well as newsprint was wasted.