?INQUIRER?S EDITORIAL, ?Black day for media,? is right on the button,? retired journalist Ricardo Torres e-mailed from Kidapawan. ?Will the press, once again, dissipate this carpe-diem or seize-the-day moment in the shock over the slaying of Hong Kong tourists by a sacked policeman??
?Broadcasters here treat a hostage-taking as a cockpit,? Torres pointed out. And tabloids are not far behind. As in the November 2007 Peninsula Hotel assault, irresponsible media ?got in the way of law enforcement.?
?Contrast hyper-ventilating at the Quirino Grandstand, or at the Peninsula assault, with Walter Cronkite?s reporting of John F Kennedy?s assassination. The only departure from the even coverage was a break in Cronkite?s voice. He paused to wipe his glasses. That was all.?
Here, media?s immediate reaction is to circle the wagons. Note the knee-jerk claim by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas that the stations honored reporting protocols. Yes, ?more in the breach than in the observance,? the Inquirer pointed out. We have learned nothing from the Peninsula Hotel clash.
Individual stations, like ABS-CBN, and umbrella groups, such as the National Union of Journalists, should see the window of opportunity here. They ought to get internal reviews going, and not wait for prodding by others.
Unlearnt lessons from Peninsula, or even Oakwood, can help. Results should be made public. ?The broadcast media should ? conduct an inquiry? in the spirit of self-regulation,? Torres said. ?That we face up to our warts is long overdue.?
?Those statistics are as damning as they get,? Mar Patalinghug e-mailed from Yonkers in New York. This retired community development officer was reacting to the report that Rep. Imelda Marcos will chair the House committee on Millennium Development Goals.
?I would not be surprised if the Philippines is among the 15 or 20 tailenders among the 191 nations which pledged to meet eight MDGs back in 2000. We?ve underfunded MDG goals by the huge amount of P95 billion. With that kind of miserable performance, it is probable that the Philippines won?t be able to ward off its universal reputation as ?The Sick Man of Asia.? Not in a long, long time I fear.
?What?s worse, it may even earn the more derogatory reputation as one of ?The Sickest Nations in the World.? But I hope not.
?For this year alone, the government is predicted to run a budget deficit of P300 billion. And according to reports, revenue collections by the BIR and Customs are running well below estimates, so that the budget shortfall could very well reach P500 billion.
?Aquino III won?t be able to push through whatever major initiatives he has in mind to solve the country?s major problems of underdevelopment and poverty. He won?t have the money to do it.?
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?It is ironic having Imelda chair the House committee on MDGs,? Dr. Carmen Montemayor wrote from Butuan City. ?Indeed, she never did anything but brag about what the Marcos Foundation would do.
?A comparison of foundations in this country offers a tutorial on Politicis 101,? the physician wrote. ?Set aside legitimate funds like the Philippine Business for Social Progress does.?
Compare shell foundations, Montemayor suggested.
?Stack the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation against those set up by the Marcoses in Lichtenstein and similar havens. We surfed the anti-graft court decision (on Sept 12, 2007) re the plunder case against former Joseph Estrada. Among other things, that decision forfeited to government P545.2 million. Of that seized cash, P211 million was stashed in the Muslim Youth Foundation. It had no programs or scholars.
?How did that fund come into existence? The decision tracks the deposit of six cashier?s checks in an Equitable PCIBank bearer account number 0279-042255. A bearer account is one where no name is mentioned. Then from April 27, 2000 to May 11, 2000, the sum was steadily drawn up?and popped up in the Muslim Youth Foundation.
?On the Net, you can also surf the full text of Supreme Court decision on Marcos shell foundations.
?The so-called Marcos funds were stashed in five ?account groups?: (a) Azio-Verso-Vibur Foundation; (b) Xandy-Wintrop: Charis-Scolari-Valamo-Spinus-Avertina Foundation (c) Trinidad-Rayby-Palmy Foundation accounts; (d) Rosalys-Aguamina Foundation; and (5) Maler Foundation accounts. None did any work for the indigents here.
?Frozen in April 1986, they were provisionally returned here in 1997. This time, the Supreme Court forfeited the boodle in favor of the State in 2003. ?It has been an incredible charade from beginning to end,? the Court said.
?Since 1991 ? all respondents have offered are foxy responses like ?lack of sufficient knowledge or lack of privity? or ?they cannot recall because it happened a long time ago? or, as in the case of Mrs. Marcos, ?the funds were lawfully acquired.? But whenever it suits them, they also claim ownership of 90 percent of the funds and allege that only 10 percent belongs to the Marcos estate.
??There is justice waiting to be done,? the Court said in denying motion for reconsideration. ?Delays in this case have all been made at the instance (of the Marcoses)? It will be a mockery of justice to allow them to benefit from it.??
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The report that a habitual absentee, Negros Occidental Rep. Jules Ledesma, will chair the House committee on science and technology stunned marine biologist Claudia Tormis from Dumaguete City.
?Does Ledesma know of Triangle and the $63 million Global Environment Facility grant?? she asked. ?Does he care??
(Email: juanlmercado@gmail.com)
