Babe's Eye View article

United Nations special envoy Philip Alston practically condemned the military when he wrapped up his 10-day investigation of alleged extrajudicial killings by saying the explanation offered by the AFP was "unconvincing," and that it was in "almost total denial" of its need to respond to the allegations. Long before the arrival of Alston in the country, the issue of extrajudicial killings was already a serious concern especially for international journalists.

Last May, I was at the International Press Institute (IPI) World Congress and 55th General Assembly in Edinburgh, Scotland where I delivered a panel speech entitled "Dying to tell the story." At the time, the Philippines had been declared the second most dangerous place for journalists, next only to Iraq.

The International Federation of Journalists also issued a warning to members of the mass media about the security situation in the country, saying it had "gone from bad to worse." The international press was ready to pounce on us, giving us the dubious distinction of being the "most murderous" place for journalists. As a matter of fact, CNN's Cris Cramer told me during the IPI World Congress they were planning to produce a documentary about Filipino journalists getting murdered. After the General Assembly, the IPI and the International News Safety Institute adopted a resolution taking governments to task for their failure in taking responsibility to solve the murders.

Just like the economy, you cannot really hide the numbers. If they're good, they're good; if they're bad, then...Houston, we got a problem." The same is true with the killings. If the numbers are up—we have a problem. In making his conclusions, Alston obviously gave weight to allegations from local rights groups that 830 people have been killed for political reasons since GMA took over. Likewise, the Melo Commission pinned the blame for these killings on a small group within, or connected with, the AFP—a report which the military had branded as "strained, unfair and a blank accusation."

What is clear in all this is that the military is losing out in the propaganda war, with the perception that it is behind these extrajudicial killings. In reality however, a lot of these killings were perpetrated by leftists, and one should not totally discount the military's claim that more than 1,000 were purged by insurgents. Many of these assassinations were done in public, with the killers even wearing military uniforms for good measure—a surefire way to pin the blame on soldiers.

Unfortunately, the burden of proof is on the AFP, even while it is obvious that it's the one getting a bum rap in the whole affair. That's also the problem with foreign groups that come here and make their conclusions based on a "10-day" investigation. One could not categorically claim that conclusions based on partial knowledge or perspective, are reliable.

These extrajudicial killings have definitely given us a black mark, and the worst thing one could do is to fight the press. The media is considered the fourth pillar of democracy, the watchdog for the people, but one cannot deny that there are also journalists who are abusive, with a number of them being killed for reasons that were proven to be unrelated to their job as media men at all.

However, in this country where freedom of the press could be abused, a number of press people have a tendency to be abusive, to the point of being arrogant. Some journalists think they are God's gift to this country—very often believing their opinions are the only ones that count. Sometimes journalists can easily get swellheaded, at times thinking they "made" the newspaper they work for, when in fact it's the newspaper that made them. It's this "hubristic" tendency—the arrogance that comes when one is thrust into sudden power, that can make a journalist irresponsible. Any kind of power is always temporary—as Marcos, Suharto and others who had absolute power realized too late.

I remember what Max Soliven used to tell me: "Newspaper people don't have bulletproof vests—so they have to be fair at all times and must always keep their feet on the ground." A journalist's life could indeed be in danger, especially if one becomes abusive and arrogant. One should not let it get into his head just because he has the power of the pen. Newspaper people may buy ink by the barrel, but the "barrel of a gun" is more lethal.

Filipinos are highly emotional people and are prone to having fits of "high blood." We're like Latinos in that sense. We are hospitable, friendly and warm, but we can get very emotional, and anything that's perceived to be an insult or an abuse done to one's person can trigger unrelenting anger. In fact, Filipinos are so sensitive that sometimes, just a stare is taken as a challenge to a fight.

I remember many years ago in a New York subway, when a Filipino was being stared at by an American. The Filipino reacted with hostility, confronting the American and saying, "Why are you staring at me?" The American meekly replied, "You look like my son." To which the Filipino sheepishly answered, "Sorry." Most likely, we got this temperamental trait from the Spaniards, who easily get "high blood."

First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, who is ingrained with Spanish blood, is so frustrated with the press he has vented his anger by filing libel suits against 42 journalists. But really, let's not react so violently over the findings of the UN rapporteur, Professor Philip Alston. Let's take it for whatever it's worth, and do what we have to do to resolve all these killings—before they kill the economy.