Babe's Eye View article

In this country, 90 percent of the game is perception. More often than not, perception can color facts and project them into reality. In a couple of weeks, we will know the Sandiganbayan verdict on the plunder case against former president Joseph Estrada. But this early, the wheels of the perception game are turning with both sides going on overdrive to gain the psychological momentum.

Whoever came out with that stupid ad, "Erap: Guilty or nor guilty", should be hanged by his toes. Putting out those ads this early compromised the credibility of the verdict. They were allegedly put out by Dante Ang, one of the close advisers of GMA, but he denied this allegation. Whoever put out those ads did a disservice to GMA, the Sandiganbayan justices and most importantly, the entire country. This is a clear example of a stupid perception strategy—simply unbelievable.

Now Joseph Estrada's supporters are turning the whole issue around in their favor, telling people the ad was an administration-backed move designed to condition the minds of Filipinos into accepting a guilty verdict. It has taken six years to decide on the case—and obviously six years is a long time—so people's perception on Estrada has also changed.

Tito Guingona was one of the first to accuse Estrada, but now has become a zealous Erap defender. But the crux of the matter is, Erap followed the constitutional process, submitting himself to impeachment proceedings but was abruptly stopped when the prosecutors staged a walkout, giving the perception that he was guilty, opening the door to another EDSA—something that Filipinos are paying for today. Six years can change a lot of things—it can change people, it can change perceptions.

Personally, I feel that the plunder case has dragged on long enough and I'm hoping an acceptable resolution will come out—one that will bring about reconciliation. While there is the perception that the country is now moving economically forward, the reality is we continue to be bogged down by the animosity and division spawned by EDSA II. As they say, justice delayed is justice denied. In this case, the delay has made people sympathetic to Erap, feeding the perception that he is not guilty and justice is not being served with his continued detention.

Internationally, there is a lingering negative perception about the Philippines in spite of economic breakthroughs because of the issue of extrajudicial killings, the disappearance of Jonas Burgos, the kidnapping of Father Bossi and even the plunder case against retired Gen. Carlos Garcia whose wife and children have conveniently disappeared. The implication of the military in extrajudicial killings plus reports about human rights violations is a big blow to the image of the AFP. Even acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales and AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon have admitted that the AFP is losing the perception game with the New People's Army gaining the upper hand with media mileage on reports that the military is engaged in a "dirty war" against suspected communists.

As a matter of fact, a glaring example of a successful propaganda perception game came from CIA records which have been recently opened. These showed that during the early '70s, the Soviet Union's KGB succeeded in the propaganda war against the United States during the Marcos years, which ultimately advanced the cause of the communist left in the Philippines.

I congratulated GMA during our private lunch last Thursday for making an excellent choice in naming former Tarlac Congressman Gilbert Teodoro as the next Secretary of National Defense. Gilbert is a bar topnotcher and is a colonel in the reserve forces of the Air Force. He is also a trustee of the PNP Foundation, so he's not exactly a greenhorn when it comes to the military. He is a brilliant lawyer like former Defense Secretary Nonong Cruz. Gilbert's youth—he just turned 43 last month—will provide a fresh and innovative approach which the AFP needs. The incoming defense chief is a smart man with a good head on his shoulders, and hopefully, he will continue the reforms initiated by Nonong Cruz to give the military a better image here and abroad.

Obviously, the election of Antonio Trillanes is an indication of the people's perception that a lot of reforms are still needed as far as the AFP is concerned. Even if he is a coup plotter, Trillanes won because people believe the demands and the issues he raised were justified.

In the world arena, perception can really play a major role. One of the brilliant perception masters was Fidel Ramos when he was president. Trained to be a psywar expert, FVR during his 35 or more trips abroad was able to convince a lot of foreign investors with his "boom-boom-boom economy" speeches which gave the perception that the Philippines was, in fact, the next "Asian Tiger."

Filipinos are so impressionable that perception can, in fact, be mistaken for truth. That is why media should be aware of the major role it plays. While columnists and opinion writers have the license to give their own interpretation and air what they perceive to be the truth, journalists and editors in general should be more careful and temper their reporting, and present the facts clearly without their personal beliefs or biases. Because in this country, perception is—more often than not—perceived to be the absolute truth.