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Bad taste

Published by Ellen on March 7, 2006

Memorandum Circular No. 01-03-2006 of the National Telecommunications Commission is very interesting.

From the memo, one can sense that the people at NTC are decent and must have felt awkward issuing guidelines to TV stations. We can imagine the pressure that the commissioners felt in issuing the memo. That it was issued on the day Gloria Arroyo lifted her silly Proclamation 1017 and declared that the country is no longer in a state of national emergency makes it more significant.

The subject of the memo is “Program Standards for Radio and TV Broadcast and Cable TV Stations.” and it is based on guidelines adopted by the Kapisanan ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas contained in an NTC memo dated Feb. 27, 2006. Why did they have to issue guidelines to KBP when they very well know that the group has already established guidelines?

In fact, one of the “whereases” in the March 3 memo stressed that “the NTC is not herein issuing a new set of guidelines since existing KBP program standards… constitute sufficient and widely-accepted benchmarks by the broadcasting industry.”

The NTC also stated that “it recognizes that the freedom and independence of the broadcast media is essential to the broad protection accorded to our fundamental civil rights to freedom of speech and the right to true and accurate information, and must thus be safeguarded for the proper performance of its role in a democratic society.”

The reason for the March 3 memo is in the fifth paragraph which states about “strict injunction for broadcast stations not to allow their facilities to be used for advocating the overthrow of government by force or violence, and not to allow the broadcast of materials which tend to propose/incite treason, rebellion, sedition, or pose a clear and present danger to the State.”

No doubt the events of Feb. 24, when it was reported that some military officers led by Brig. Gen. Danny Lim had planned to join the EDSA One celebration and the Feb. 26 standoff at the Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio over the relief of Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda as Marine commandant caused the issuance of the memo.

The question then should be raised on what constitutes inciting treason, rebellion and treason. What is considered posing clear and present danger to the State?

Is exposing the cheating of Gloria Arroyo sedition? Gloria Arroyo is not the State. She can even be considered an enemy of the State for thwarting the will of the people in the 2004 elections and for violating the Constitution countless times.

The March 3 memo referred to the KBP Circular 06-016 to all its members issued Feb. 27, 2006 containing some provisions of the KBP TV and radio codes.

The guidelines on “news sources” is amusing. In one sentence, it says: “A station may not broadcast news to which it cannot attribute a source. News from ‘anonymous sources’ is not allowed.”

In the next sentence it says, ” News sources must be clearly identified, except when granted confidentiality. A station may broadcast information provided by confidential sources only if it is in the public interest to do so.”

So what is it? Journalists know that many truths come from sources that cannot be identified in public. The classic case is Washington Post’s “Deep Throat” in the Watergate wiretapping scandal which led to the downfall of US President Richard Nixon.

The Philippine Press Institute guideline on the use of anonymous sources is much more helpful. Its Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct states: “As a rule, the use of anonymous sources shall be discouraged especially if they are coming from the public sector or publicly accountable agencies. But when we have to shield the identity of our source because revealing it would put his/her job or life in danger, we must: First ascertain the truth of his/her assertions; Determine if he/she is not a polluted source or an interested or beneficial party; Describe him/her in a manner that would establish his/her expertise or right to speak on the subject.”

We like best the part on “Sensationalism.” It says, “News must always be presented in good taste.” We couldn’t agree more.

We should not have news reports with Gloria Arroyo saying she has a mandate because it is bad taste. It’s a lie.

Gloria Arroyo saying on the lifting of 1017 that “my actions strengthened and protected our civil liberties and free press”… is bad taste because her actions trampled on people’s civil liberties and assaulted free press.

Gloria Arroyo boasting “I believe I am the best president to lead this nation through the transition” is bad taste. Very bad taste.

Published inMalaya

34 Comments

  1. a de brux a de brux

    Ellen,

    Tama ka! Hindi lang iyong sinabi niya pero pati siya: bad taste.

    Kunyari Cristiano iyon pala demonyo!

    March 8, 2006
  2. Karl Garcia Karl Garcia

    naniniwala ako di lamang ang ginawa nya ang bad taste, pati sya…

    kaya ang mga tao ay sukang suka na!

    hindi porket konti lang ang nasa kalasada..konti na ang nasusuka

    yung iba tulad ko na sa blog lang nakakapaglabas ng sama ng loob at
    di lumalabas sa kalsada…pero hindi ito nangangahulugan na
    payag ako sa mga nagyayari!

    pag sinasabi nga sa blog ng kunsino man at mga comments na ang mga di lumalabas ay walang pakialam at suicidally indifferent..parang gusto ko ng humirit na di naman lahat ganon!

    at sa mga galit sa militar….di na lang ako nagpapaapekto kung nilalahat nila ang buong militar!

    pero hindi naman po lahat ganun!

    March 8, 2006
  3. Ellen Ellen

    There a lot out there in the military who are truly men of honor. That’s why there is restiveness in the military. That’s why Gloria Arroyo is panicking.

    March 8, 2006
  4. peacer051 peacer051

    Disappointed ako kay SENGA, dahil nagpapagamit siya kay Glue-ria. SENGA!!!Bad taste ka para sa akin.

    March 8, 2006
  5. Para sa Kanto Mama Para sa Kanto Mama

    Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.
    Kung may live coverage ang reporter sa isang rally (wala ng 1017 ‘di ba?) at biglang may sumigaw ng “ibagsak ang panggulo!” sakop ba ‘to ng fifth paragraph?
    Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.
    May pasahero din pala sa NTC.

    March 8, 2006
  6. goldenlion goldenlion

    Gloria and her cohorts are not only bad taste……bad influence and will result in bad karma. Uulitin ko, gloria is a curse, no glory with gloria, at siyempre anong aasahan natin sa mga government agencies na pinapaikot ni gloria?. e di in bad taste din!!! Darating din ang bad timing nila….kung saan iyon ay good timing sa taong bayan.

    March 8, 2006
  7. johnmarzan johnmarzan

    i heard hinahanap mo yung report sa speech ni GMA sa COPA, ellen? well, here it is.

    as early as january 2000 pa raw nila plina-plano yung kudeta. 😉

    btw, is “Col. C.B. Garcia” underlined below the Gen. Carlos Garcia?

    Here’s the link:

    GMA ADMITS PART IN MILITARY COUP VS. ERAP

    Manila, Feb. 23, 2001 – Administration officials came to the defense of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s revelation before members of the Council on Philippine Affairs (Copa) that she, along with Copa members, was in constant communication with five military groups, including Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes, in a plot to oust now deposed President Joseph Estrada.

    Mrs. Arroyo publicly stated that aside from the five military groups who offered their support as early as January 2000, there were others such as some activists, some priests and their friends who were “working for the eventual withdrawal of support (from Estrada).”

    Copa is a group that is led by former President Corazon Aquino’s brother, Jose “Peping” Cojuangco. Members of Copa are Gen. Edgardo Espinosa, Jose Pastor Zaycon and Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, among others. “That (military) group that I was meeting with since January was made up of Gen. Larry Mendoza and Col. C.B. Garcia” and a retired general.

    Mrs. Arroyo recounted that she met with a group close to Reyes.

    Reyes’ chief of staff, Col. Victor Corpus, began talking with Mrs. Arroyo’s senior aide Col. Charlie Braganza.

    “Later (Braganza) was transferred to Nolcom…and that’s when he became a…plotter in the crime together with Gen. Art Cerillo, and that ‘the problem’ was the time for the ‘moment of truth’ which was supposed to have been on Nov. 4.

    “And then later on President (Fidel) Ramos introduced me to another group…and this was the group of Gen. (Hermogenes) “Jun” Ebdane and also special operations commander Gen. Jonep Santiago and I said `Wow!’ this is because the special operations commander is the head of the Special Forces and the Scout Rangers,” the President recalled.

    Finally, Mrs. Arroyo said Singson introduced her to a group of officers headed by Espinosa and Col. Reynaldo Berroya in a hotel.

    National Security Adviser Roilo Golez ruled out security and constitutional conflict because of the revelations made by the President.

    “The President is being transparent. In her speech, she is showing how the military officers are demonstrating their love of country. What could be more honest than acting on your mandate given by the Filipino people?” Golez said. Instead of criticizing her and the military officers’ group for abandoning Estrada at the height of his leadership crisis, those who helped the opposition groups in catapulting Mrs. Arroyo into power, should instead have the respect of the Filipino people, he claimed.

    Acting Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita in another interview with the Tribune also downplayed the observation that a coup plot was indeed hatched by the military with the knowledge, support and consent of Mrs. Arroyo, who was clearly the beneficiary of an Estrada ouster.

    Instead of losing the trust and confidence of the Filipino people, members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, according to Ermita, were transformed into a more disciplined and more dedicated officers, whose main objective is to always protect the Constitution and its citizens.

    “It’s a matter of opinion. Let’s go back to Edsa I, when we severed our ties (with the Marcos government), did it placed the military in bad light?” he said, adding “people now believe that members of the AFP are always thinking and making things always for the good of the people,” Ermita, a retired military general said.

    While speaking at the Copa People’s Heroes Awards last Wednesday night, Mrs. Arroyo segued by revealing the names of those who helped her from the military and police side. (By She Caguimbal-Torres and Jun del Rio)

    March 8, 2006
  8. jinxies jinxies

    08 March 2006

    only one word how to describe it “PATHETIC”. How can the NTC issue such a thing???are they inpower to do that????

    The same thing, when GMA went to DZBB, she’s pathetic!!!!

    jinx

    March 8, 2006
  9. Ellen Ellen

    Thanks, John. Ang galing mo maghalungkat ng archives. How do you do that? Do you have a special program?

    March 8, 2006
  10. Ellen Ellen

    Another bad taste: “I believe that I am here now because that is the plan of God for me and us.”

    Interview with Mike Enriquez of GMA-7
    March 7, 2006

    March 8, 2006
  11. jay cynikho jay cynikho

    Ingat ang lahat ng Pinoy.
    Hindi taTANTANAN SILA NI
    MIKE ENRIQUES HANGGAT HINDI
    SILA NANINIWALA KAY GLORIA.
    AKO NOON PA NAGIINGAT. KAPUSA,
    ESTE KAPUSO.

    March 8, 2006
  12. a de brux a de brux

    Yes John!

    I agree with Ellen! Galing… we need to publish and re-publish these interviews because people need to reflect on how Mrs Gloria Bad Taste, our commander in chief illegitmus is the promoter numero uno of destabilization in the country…

    March 9, 2006
  13. jinxies jinxies

    09 March 2006

    Yes john ganda nyan, pano mo nga nagawa yan???

    If what you have posted is true, then why is gloria saying that some military members are destabilizers??? it just shows that, it takes one to know one, (tama ba ako dun). Have your read the tribune today, 09 March 2006, Angara is calling for the resignation of both GMA and Noli and to for them to cal a snap election??? that’s what I have been saying, in order for us to move forward, both the no. 1 and 2 including all the elective and appointive official/s of the country, if they love our country, should resign now and we should have a snap election.

    jinx

    March 9, 2006
  14. johnmarzan johnmarzan

    “Thanks, John. Ang galing mo maghalungkat ng archives. How do you do that? Do you have a special program?”

    thanks ellen. no special program. i just input “macapagal arroyo COPA espinosa 2001” (without the quotes) in the google search box, and the newsflash article on COPA pops up at the results… like this…

    http://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&tab=wn&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d&q=macapagal+arroyo+COPA+espinosa+2001&btnmeta%3Dsearch%3Dsearch=Search+the+Web

    i also use wayback machine for old articles that are not available anymore

    http://web.archive.org/collections/web.html

    like your old article on mike arroyo’s interview…

    http://web.archive.org/web/20020206231755/http://malaya.com.ph/jan16/edtorde.htm

    this is the original link to the jan 16, 2002 article btw.

    http://malaya.com.ph/jan16/edtorde.htm (the mike arroyo interview is not available anymore, replaced by the jan.16, 2006 article)

    check this out too…

    http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://malaya.com.ph/jan16/edtorde.htm

    it was your request by the way na hanapin yung speech ni arroyo sa COPA that gave me the idea to dig for those old articles. hehe…

    March 9, 2006
  16. johnmarzan johnmarzan

    hindi lumabas yung isang post ko ah! subject for approval pa raw…

    March 9, 2006
  17. Ellen Ellen

    Sorry. Sometimes some of the comments wait for my approval. Not all. But I think it’s already there.

    John, I’m wondering if you can help me look for this: I’m looking for the full quote of Glroia Arroyo during an award ceremony for Chief Justice Davide a few weeks after Edsa Dos.

    She was supposed to have said that people power was a reality of political life in the Philippines. “If I commit plunder, I will deserve People Power against me.” or something like that.

    Re:this is the original link to the jan 16, 2002 article btw.

    http://malaya.com.ph/jan16/edtorde.htm (the mike arroyo interview is not available anymore, replaced by the jan.16, 2006 article)

    Malaya restructured its website and our old files were lost.

    March 9, 2006
  20. Ellen Ellen

    Thanks, John. I think it’s the Aug. 27 2001 affair. I’ll look up her speeches on that date.

    March 10, 2006
  22. marshal marshal

    Copa is a group that is led by former President Corazon Aquino’s brother, Jose “Peping” Cojuangco. Members of Copa are Gen. Edgardo Espinosa, Jose Pastor Zaycon and Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, among others. “That (military) group that I was meeting with since January was made up of Gen. Larry Mendoza and Col. C.B. Garcia” and a retired general.

    ASK KO LANG PO KUNG UNG TINUTUKO NA COL. C. B. GARCIA AY UN DING GEN. GARCIA NA GUILTY SA PAGNANAKAW NG PERA NG AFP? NAGTATANONG LANG PO.

    March 10, 2006
  24. Ellen Ellen

    The AFP comptroller, who is accused of amassing ill-gotten wealth is Gen. Carlos F. Garcia. So he could not be Col. C.B. Garcia.

    March 11, 2006

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