Voices from the stands

“Editors who boast they don’t bother to look at readers’ letters invariably run second-rate papers… (Vetting) letters to the editor was regarded, by some, as ultimate ignominy.” That’s from a journalism heavyweight: Harold Evans.

From 1967 to 1981, Evans transformed the staid Sunday Times of London into one of the world’s best dailies. Its investigative reports, from Kim Philby’s exposure as a Soviet spy to the victims of the drug Thalidomide, remain classics.

Evans quit after differences with publisher Rupert Murdoch. Today, Murdoch squirms before the Leveson Commission, which is probing the phone hacking reportedly conducted by the now shut-down News of the World and the influence peddling at 10 Downing Street.

Inquirer letters-to-the-editor page runs daily except on Sunday. The webpage posts comments by readers worldwide in minutes. We took Evans’ counsel and reviewed the comments of Viewpoint’s readers. Excerpts:

Long-term issues can be blurred by spot news, “Beyond headlines” (Inquirer, 6/16/12) noted. This cited the Pacquiao-Bradley brawl and the fallout from Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment. It dealt with the “Rio+20” conference, the budding reforms in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Supreme Court.

“Guilty as charged,” Simon Ward wrote. “(But) following the impeachment was time well-spent. The Tulfo brawl and Anastasia affair were time wasted, but fun. The robbery in Las Vegas was educational about Filipino passions. I didn’t follow Jessica (Sanchez)… but I believe a lot of people did. Thank you for putting us gently in our place about where our fleeting attention might be better focused.”

“Those were the best times to bury bad news, too,” countered Joe Bloggs. And Basilio Nisia erupted: “You skipped the hot contenders for the vacant chief justice position. Also, I think China is just a ‘Paper Dragon,’ not even an ‘Old Dragon with a New Set of Teeth,’ as you wrote. Nice metaphor though.”

“Even biometrics can be circumvented in the ARMM, if there is collusion among voters and board of inspectors,” Apo Lapulapu wrote. “There is a positive side. Many now register because they trust the administration. (Some) also want to make money. In that area, votes are bought from P500 to P3,000 each.”

“Scrapping old tags” (Inquirer, 6/9/12) asked if derisive labels of the Philippines as “the region’s never-do-well” were on the way out. Among other things, it cited a 6.4 percent surge in economic growth for early 2012, plus other “upticks,” e.g., steady OFW remittances.

“I didn’t think I’d say this in my lifetime but, finally, I’m beginning to have hope,” Pilipino Ako6 e-mailed. “For the first time in many, many years, I’m hearing from international sources good things instead of the usual ‘sick man of Asia.’

“Global Enabling Trade Report 2012 stated the Philippines climbed 20 notches in business destination ranking. In 2010, out of 132 countries, we ranked 92nd. But now we’re on 72nd spot. An international finance services firm, ANZ, reported that our government’s debt-to-GDP ratio may decline further to 48 percent from last year’s 50 percent.

“Standard & Poor’s will raise its credit rating for the Philippines this year. Expect Fitch Ratings to change its outlook on our country’s ratings from ‘stable’ to ‘positive.’ Other international rating firms echo similar reports.

“All these while the rest of the world, in the US and in many parts of Europe are locked in crisis. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Let us not allow it to slip through our fingers.”

“For a long time, I’ve waited for a guy like this,” 8424 wrote. “We had Marcos martial law, Joseph Blue Label Estrada to the ultimate Ate Glo. I am now 65 years, too old to see and enjoy the good things. But my children will!”

“Compared to the Estrada to Arroyo years, from one corrupt regime to another, an Aquino to Binay transfer of power is absolutely preferable,” Karbukov wrote. “I’ve always believed the 6-year term limit of the Constitution is artificial. (It) should be scrapped, perhaps in favor of unlimited or, at least, longer terms, preferably through a parliamentary system.” One of the spinoffs of online letters to the editor is the internal debate they spark. Boyet Tigas and Facile1 took issue with Karbukov on the lifting of the 6-year cap for a presidential term.

“An open-ended term is too much of a temptation.” Instead, Boyet Tigas would clamp term limits on every position in government. Every citizen must work in government for at least two years. That would train them in civic duties. Call it a 2-year cooperative college education requirement. Except the students get paid and the government saves on pensions.

“Averted conflict” (Inquirer, 6/2/12) dealt with the impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona’s “Mi Ultimo Adios, well, sort of.” Letters clogged the inbox, with some veering off to clobber Senator-judge Miriam Santiago for her tirades.

“The problem is the inability to connect the dots,” Ruben C e-mailed. “They don’t see and appreciate the elimination from service of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and now Corona. Both were large stonewalls against the government efforts to end Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s culture of impunity. Now that we’re rid of corrupt protectors, the way is clear for the prosecution of GMA and thieves. Now, they have no more guarantee for their acquittal.”

“Corona should just shut his mouth and seriously think of truly making amends,” tra6Gpeche wrote. “As for Miriam Santiago, who asked the Lord to give her another life so she’d investigate wealth statements: She is still alive right now, isn’t she?… I wonder what would happen to the image of us, Filipinos, when she goes to The Hague.”

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