Thank you, Secretary Alberto Agra for confirming the truth that the Filipinos—thirsty for justice—can never expect anything from the Arroyo Administration.
You just dignified the growing distrust of the Filipino people on the government when you saw Zaldy Ampatuan and his cousin, Akmad, as innocent over the gruesome slaughter on November 23 of 58 civilians—32 of them our fellow journalists—even in the absence of due process.
When you wanted the two Ampatuans, who, according to witnesses were behind the killing of the 58 civilians, out of jail when murder charges were already filed and a commitment order was already issued, it showed how offensive and obscene you and the Arroyo administration can really get.
Thank you for allowing the world to see what we have long been crying out loud: that the Arroyo administration is the number one coddler of criminals in this part of the world—naturally as it is headed by the mother of all murderers, the President herself.
Thank you that the effort has become less for us to justify our declaration that the preoccupation of the Arroyo government these days is to further expand the prevailing culture of impunity, political patronage and warlordism—all these, of course, work for the benefit of an administration suffering from the lowest public satisfaction and highest public distrust ratings in history.
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Are you in Davao City, Mindanao? Or will you be in Davao City this month? Looking for events in Davao City?
There’s a month-long photo exhibit that you might want to check out.
Dubbed “My Davao, My Mindanao,” this photo exhibit showcases the works of photojournalists Jojie Alcantara and Rhonson Ng. The exhibit will show the beauty and grandeur of Davao City and Mindanao through the eyes (and camera lenses!) of Jojie and Rhonson.
The “My Davao, My Mindanao” photo exhibit can be found at Museo Dabawenyo.
First of all, we should not call it “Maguindanao Massacre” anymore. We should now call it “Ampatuan Massacre.” Ampatuan is the specific place where the mass graves were found. Maguindanao is the province here in Mindanao.
Secondly, to fellow journalists out there (especially those from Luzon) who make the constant mistake of treating Mindanao as one “lawless island,” (come on, you know who you are!) please…please be extra careful.
Maguindanao IS NOT Mindanao.
Mindanaoans like myself have been doing our best to help keep our place peaceful and safe. Unfortunately, like any other area, there are people who refuse to obey the law and think that they are above it. These people do not represent the entire island of Mindanao.
One tiny yet misleading description of our island can result in so many negative effects. So please…if you can…don’t look at Mindanao as if it’s the most dangerous place in the world.
Thirdly, I would like to encourage all of you to please say a prayer for all of my fellow media practitioners who have become victims of such heinous crimes.
They went because they believed in peace. They went because they believed in freedom. They went because they believed in fair play and honesty. Sadly, even with those beliefs, they still suffered such gruesome deaths.
Please pray for these media men killed in the Ampatuan massacre. Thanks to CenterLaw, I got this list of the names of journalists killed in the brutal Ampatuan massacre last November 23, 2009. So far, the list consists of a total of twenty seven (27) media practitioners who were killed at that massacre including vernacular weekly Periodico Ini’s entire staff pool. Reports say that there may be more than 35 media men.
May God bless their souls and may God’s healing hands touch their bereaved loved ones.
My classmate in Ateneo and Sarangani provincial governor Miguel Rene Dominguez is asking for trouble. Not a few eyebrows will surely be raised after he reportedly blamed the Mindanao media for “always highlighting all the bad things that are happening in Mindanao.” Same goes with Lt. Colonel Edgardo de Leon, commander of the 73rd Infantry Battalion, who also blamed the media.
Dominguez said that the “insurgency and other conflicts in Mindanao is actually just a game of perception. And I blame the media for that!” He reportedly then said that the culture of the media today, except for a few who are practicing peace journalism, is not very commendable.
De Leon, on the other hand, said that the rest of the country’s and the world’s perception of Mindanao at present is also the work of the media. “The image of Mindanao can be blamed on the media,” he said. De Leon even went on to claim that his battalion had once invited the media to cover the peace rally the 73rd IB had organized but none covered it. Instead, he got a very disheartening news from the media: “Pa-pogi lang yan. Huwag n’yo
nang puntahan yan.” (I would really, really love to know who said this, if ever this is true!)
“Most my battalion members is not from Mindanao and we are doing everything to improve the image of Mindanao, but media personalities, media workers from Mindanao hindi man lang naisip to improve the image of Mindanao,” he lamented.
As a Mindanawan peace advocate and journalist, De Leon’s last statement really burned my ears. Hindi man lang naisip, he says! Colonel, please, don’t generalize!
Truth be told, there are just so many things to say about this news item. In fact, there have been so many debates over this. Officials tend to blame the media because it’s easy for them to do so.
While it’s true and unfortunate that there are fellow Mindanao media practitioners who do need to be more cautious in their reports about Mindanao, I think there’s no need to put the entire blame on us. Dominguez’s claim may be correct at some level but to put the blame entirely on the hands of the media is unnecessary.
Truth be told, I think Mindanao-based media practitioners would love to report the good, the beautiful and the exciting side of Mindanao. Who wouldn’t want to do that? Who wouldn’t want to tell the rest of the world just how fascinating Mindanao is and just how warm and friendly the people here are?
BUT…it wouldn’t be fair to sugarcoat things. As much as we all want to project the image that Mindanao is a peaceful place to live in, the truth of the matter is Mindanao has its problems, just as Luzon and Visayas have their own. Just as Honduras, Iran and North Korea have their own. And yes, Mindanao’s problems aren’t caused by just one thing. Mindanao’s problems are deep and long-standing.
It’s true that the media plays a critical role in the peace efforts of the country, not just Mindanao. The media has the responsibility to show the world that Mindanao and its people value peace and harmony.
However, let’s do away with the finger pointing. Putting the blame on the Mindanao media will only discourage media practitioners…and will only show the world that indeed there are conflicts, even between officials and the media.
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From Mindanao media to PNoy’s communications group – an appeal
July 14, 2010
Advocacy, Broadcasting, Commentary, Government, Headline, Media, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, News, Opinion, Politics, blogging
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So it’s somehow final now. The Office of the Press Secretary is no longer. New Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III or PNoy will reorganize it and will rename it to the Presidential Communications Office. The latest buzz is that ANC broadcaster Ricky Carandang and “The Explainer” Manolo Quezon III will join the communications team and will play vital roles.
I am, quite frankly, happy to know that Carandang and Quezon will be part of the team. For sure, these brilliant minds will bring with them their years of experience and they will definitely be fab assets to the Aquino administration. No doubt about that.
My concern, therefore, is more about the treatment towards Mindanao journalists now that Aquino has made it clear that the public is his “BOSS” and now that he has two seasoned journalists in his fold.
*yes, that’s me asking PGMA a question during one of her presidential visits in Mindanao*
You see, for years, community media practitioners or “local media” do not always seem to receive the same treatment as Manila-based journalists do especially during presidential visits. Which is odd, really, since local media practitioners should be given the same chance to ask questions and capture great photos.
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