Speaking of Media

Seeing the light?
“Both in sincere gratitude to a nation that deserves a more harmonious leadership, and as a gesture of peace to the many kind hearts who have helped my family weather this crisis, I have instructed my attorneys to withdraw all the libel suits pending before the courts.
“Seeking redress for all the grievances that the libel sought to address now pales in comparison to taking on a genuine chance to make peace and to pursue a more positive and constructive relationship with those who will accept my offer of a handshake.”
– Presidential spouse Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, announcing the withdrawal of libel suits he filed against 46 journalists

“The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) welcomes this but we’d rather credit the journalists for pushing back, rather than (First Gentleman Mike Arroyo) for any change of heart. The very heart of filing 11 cases was the crime. He is not fooling anyone, just as he is not scaring anyone. (Arroyo) remains an enemy of press freedom. So no thanks to (Arroyo).”
– SEAPA executive director Roby Alampay, after Malacañang announced the withdrawal of libel suits, May 3

“We are glad that the First Gentleman has seen the light. But he should never have filed these cases in the first place. We would like this matter to be resolved on its merits. This will provide journalists with parameters on libel and what it is not.”
– Marites Vitug, Newsbreak editor and one of the libel respondents, May 3

“Today we are at war: at war against the constant terror waged by our critics and detractors, those who appear intimidated by the more superior force of reason and righteousness;
“We are at war… against those who seek to mangle news into a tool for propaganda and disinformation, against the merchants of falsehoods and fallacies out to entice and corrupt media by the glitter of gold and the power of the dime;
“We are at war… against economic deprivation that relegates media work to being a mere economic engagement, rather than as a medium or platform to transform, to impact, to catalyze, to reform. True enough, there can never be genuine press freedom if media remains in the bondage of want and in the stranglehold of corruption and fear;
“We are at war… against those who mistakenly view media as a mindless adversary and opponent, rather than as a necessary counter-force to excesses and indiscretions, against those who seek to prostitute the nobility of our cause, against the merchants and peddlers of mediocrity and compromise;
“Tonight, in this austere evening of solidarity and oneness with fellow workers in the press, we pay solemn tribute to the many courageous men and women of the profession who braved death or jail in the course of bringing stories to the people truthfully and well;
“Their labors are safe in our memories for we shall always remember them… in songs… in poetry… and in their stories of freedom and struggle.”
“Long live the Filipino journalist!”
– National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Davao, May 3

Killed for being a journalist
“It is disgraceful enough that journalists in the Philippines are systematically killed for simply doing their job, but the culture of impunity that has developed under Arroyo has seen these journalists’ killers walk free.”
International Federation of Journalists – president Christopher Warren, after the April 18 murder of radio journalist Carmelo Palacios, Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 20

“During the dark days of martial rule when the state’s military might reigned supreme, journalists were not spared the anguish, terror, and uncertainty that came with the power of the gun. But at least they knew the face of their enemy, or those who considered a journalist an enemy.
“State operatives did not hide their dislike for journalists who knew—and exposed—too much. They flaunted the iron hand that held the media in its grip.
“They made sure you knew they didn’t like what you wrote, and that you would suffer for it. There were raids, inter-rogations, threats, prison and the like.
“That was then. Today, the mode to communicate dislike or disapproval of journalists who know too much has changed into a more deadly, calculated method.
“A serial-type killing is on the rise and rising. And no party—not crime syndicates, government ‘extra-legal’ operatives, or illegal armed groups—has the monopoly of this method.
“Now it is death by murder. With cool, deliberate speed and precision.”
– Ceres Doyo, Inquirer, April 20

A monumental injustice
“(Alex) Adonis has no business being in jail. It is a monumental injustice that he is. It’s time, in fact, for that damnable thing called libel to be decriminalized, its inclusion in the Penal Code being a dirty finger thrust in the face of press freedom. Nowhere so than in this country, where the wrong people are sent to jail for the wrong reasons. To accuse someone of libel, as I’ve said again and again, is to accuse him of lying. The public officials of this government are the least qualified to make that accusation.”
– Conrado de Quiros, on the imprisonment of former Bombo Radyo anchor Alex Adonis, Inquirer, April 9

Lawless Philippines
“The attacks sent another chilling message: Staffs of big Manila newspapers and media networks are no longer immune. Preliminary police investigations indicated the attacks were ‘work-related,’ meaning they appeared to have resulted from journalistic exposés of alleged venalities of local officials.
“The unabated violence has increasingly showed up the central government’s impotence to command respect for the law and its authority.
“Journalists, as well as the leftist militants, no longer know who their enemies are. This is symptomatic of the spreading anarchy of lawlessness. What remains as public authority is the façade of a dummy government—a shadow of the ‘strong republic.’
“This is the equivalent of having no government at all.”
– Amando Doronila on the recent attacks against journalists, Inquirer, April 23

“Until and unless the mass media can regain its reputation for professionalism and impartiality, as opposed to being willing tools of one or the other political and economic interest, whether traditional politicians or politicians of the Left, I don’t think its practitioners should look to public outrage for protection when their deals go sour or they are seen by deadly and serious forces as taking sides for their own profit and advantage.”
– Blogger Dean Jorge Bocobo, reacting to Doronila’s column, http://philippinecommentary.blogspot.com, April 23

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