These words define the attitude and conduct toward media killings of the Aquino administration, according to the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), a network of independent media organizations in the region.
Yet still, in a statement issued over the weekend, SEAPA noted that the government has been unrelenting in its criticism of the supposed “negativism” of journalists but remains silent over the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.
SEAPA called out the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III over the unyielding tide of media murders, including three in a series that occurred in recent weeks.
“In no other country is the phrase ‘culture of impunity’ better demonstrated, and its consistency of targeting members of the media community seriously erodes the Philippine press’s reputation of being among the freest in the region,” said SEAPA.
“The Philippine government has effectively defaulted on its duty to protect the free press and freedom of opinion and expression with the unabated killings, and a low proportion of ‘solved’ cases (less than 10 percent), with no mastermind ever convicted,” SEAPA said.
“Still, government’s complacency over media killings reflects its low appreciation of the role of media in Philippine society. In addition to lack of decisive action on media killings, public officials, up to the President, routinely gripe about negative reporting in the media,” it added.
“Policy-wise, the President and his party has also withheld endorsement of the Freedom of Information bill that has floundered in Congress — depriving civil society and the media of a potent tool to exact accountability of public officials.With three new killings of journalists, the Philippine government has utterly failed in its duty to protect journalists,” SEAPA said.
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) is a founding member of SEAPA together with the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), the Thai Journalists Association, the Alliance of Independent Journalists of Indonesia, the Institute for the Studies of the Free Flow of Information of Indonesia, and the Center for Independent Journalism of Malaysia.
SEAPA also works with independent media organizations in Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Vietnam, and other countries in Asia.
The full text of the SEAPA statement follows:
IT is a terrible coincidence that there have been three murders of journalists in the Philippines between International Day to End Impunity (IDEI on 23 November) and the International Human Rights Day:
* On 29 November, radio journalist Joash Dignos was shot dead by four unidentified men in Valencia, Bukidnon province in Mindanao. Dignos was known to be a harsh commentator, who frequently talked about issues in the city. Earlier in June, a grenade exploded in the DXGT radio station while Dignos’s program was being aired.
* One week later, radio anchor Michael Melo was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen on board a motorcycle Tandag city, Surigao province, also in Mindanao. Melo was national supervisor for of Prime FM 99.1 radio and also managing editor of a local newspaper.
* On December 11, radio program host Rogelio Butalid was shot dead in Tagum city, Davao Del Norte province, also in Mindanao. Butalid was shot dead in front of the Radyo Natin 107.9 FM station as he was about to go home after his radio program.
* The day earlier, Iloilo city (in the Visayas region) radio reporter Jonavin Villalba survived an ambush just outside his home after returning from work.
These incidents reinforce the Philippines’ reputation as one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, and certainly Southeast Asia’s. The country is the only one in Southeast Asia where killings of journalists happened in 2013 — with a chilling total of 12 dead.
Not all journalist killings are work-related, such as the Melo murder, we have been informed. Killings, which include human rights defenders among typical victims, are usually a fallout of local political or economic disputes, which the national government seems powerless — if not disinterested — to curb.
In no other country is the phrase “culture of impunity” better demonstrated, and its consistency of targeting members of the media community seriously erodes the Philippine press’s reputation of being among the freest in the region.
The Philippine government has effectively defaulted on its duty to protect the free press and freedom of opinion and expression with the unabated killings, and a low proportion of “solved” cases (less than10%), with no mastermind ever convicted.
A chilling reminder of official complacency is the 22 November remark of Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma on the eve of the IDEI that media killings are “not so serious” and that “there is no more impunity” in the Philippines.
One would think that the government would have already learned lessons from the 2009 Ampatuan massacre, when, in an election-related incident, 58 persons were killed including 32 media workers — the worst toll in recorded history.
Coloma echoes the standard defensive reply of government when confronted with the issue of impunity. To be fair though, he has condemned the murders of Dignos and Melo after this regrettable remark.
Still, government’s complacency over media killings reflects its low appreciation of the role of media in Philippine society. In addition to lack of decisive action on media killings, public officials, up to the President, routinely gripe about negative reporting in the media.
Policy-wise, the President and his party has also withheld endorsement of the Freedom of Information bill that has floundered in Congress – depriving civil society and the media of a potent tool to exact accountability of public officials.
Such an attitude towards the media carries dangerous repercussions in the context of local politics under which most media killings have occurred. It constitutes an unspoken policy of tolerance of these killings, which are a sad testament to the industry’s role in keeping watch over local businesses and government officials.
Media murders undermine the special role of media in fulfilling the right to freedom of opinion and expression as a platform to channel public opinion and to access information that must be kept free from interference and safe from attack.
Because of impunity, the reputation of the Philippines for press freedom is dubious for threats to physical safety effectively put a gag on free reporting.
More insidiously, impunity for killings of journalists in the Philippines negates any argument to push for a free press in other countries. Too often have journalists from other countries expressed concern on these killings, and wondered aloud whether a restricted media is an acceptable trade-off for their safety as media professionals.
We refuse to accept that unabated killings and a culture of impunity should be a terrible price paid for press freedom.
It will take a long process before the culture of impunity is finally erased from the political landscape. Beyond knee-jerk condemnation statements, government must move towards more tangible steps to address the culture of impunity.
The Aquino administration must send a clear message that killings will no longer be tolerated and that those responsible must face the full weight of the law.
————–
For more information, please contact:
Gayathry Venkiteswaran, Executive Director, gayathry@seapa.org?Kulachada Chaipipat:, Campaigns and Advocacy Manager, kcchacha@gmail.com?Edgardo Legaspi, Alerts and Communication Officer, epl@seapa.org
AS PART OF THE worldwide commemoration of International Anti-Corruption Day, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has organized a public forum on the possible future steps that the citizenry can take on the issue of the pork barrel and other pork-like funds. The forum will involve public finance and legal experts such as former Budget Secretary Ben Diokno, former National Treasurer Leonor Briones, constitutional law expert Prof. Dan Gatmaytan, Commission on Audit Commissioner Heidi Mendoza, and citizen journalists, bloggers, and concerned citizens groups such as blogwatch and Filipino Freethinkers. This is a live blog on today’s discussions in Manila.
Dr. Benjamin Diokno, former Budget Secretary: “Pork is very much alive and kicking! It is just hidden in the departments’ budgets.”
Former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno warned that despite the announced removal of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) by President Benigno S. Aquino and the decision by the Supreme Court rendering PDAF unconstitutional, lump sum funds are still very much alive and just hidden in the seven major departments of the government.
Diokno said the PDAF was merely renamed and scattered across the different line agencies. Legislators however would still have power to identify projects to be funded by these funds. Diokno added that lump sum funds by themselves are patently illegal and unconstitutional, because they prevent the Executive from exercising his power to make a line veto of a specific budget proposal. Since the money is placed in a lump sum without any particulars on the spending, the Executive would not have the power to determine whether a veto could be exercised.
At the same time Diokno said that there are many other lump sum funds, different from PDAF, that are considered pork or pork-like. For example, special funds such as the Malampaya Fund, or royalties coming from the Malampaya gas fields production, are easily abused.
Diokno warned that while it may be tempting to tap into the Malampaya funds for post-Yolanda projects, one must be careful not to stray into unconstitutional or illegal activitiesl. For example, Diokno rejected proposals for the Malampaya funds to be used to restore the power grid in the VIsayas, for the simple reason that the power grid belongs to the private sector, while the Malampaya funds are public funds.
Dr. Leonor Briones, former National Treasurer, Convenor, Social Watch Philippines: There are more lump sum funds in the budget than the pork barrel
Dr. Briones pointed out that PDAF, which was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court and declared abolished by the President, only constitutes a very small portion of other pork like funds in the budget. The total PDAF for legislators amount to only P25.44 billion. In contrast, the President still has under his control some P283 billion under his Special Purpose Fund (SPF); direct remittances from other agencies amounting to P40 billion; intelligence funds amounting to P846 million; and unprogrammed funds of P 139 billion. Examples of unprogrammed and off-budget funds include P2 billion a year in revenues from the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), P26 billion from the Malampaya Fund, and P12 billion from the Motor Vehicles Users Charge.
In fact, Briones said, legislators are alloted an extra P10 million each from the Motor Vehicle Users Charge over and above their PDAF. With all the lump sum items made available to national leaders, it is a wonder that there are so many places in the country which have not been showered with the grace of additional funding.
For example, Briones said that a large part of Northern Samar has never had electricity, way before supertyphoon Yolanda smashed through the area and topple electric posts.
Briones also noted how misaligned the budgeting appears to be. For example, Briones said that the poorest parts of the country appear to have the least amounts budgeted for their development. On the other hand, areas which are already well developed still get a windfall of funding. For instance, Briones said 58 percent of the national budget has been programmed for Luzon; 24 percent allocated for Mindanao; and only 18 percent is for the Visayas. “Yet the focus of the calamities has been Visayas,” Briones said. “But I would say that the political calamities are in Luzon.”
Professor Dan Gatmaytan, constitutional law expert, associate professor, UP College of Law: “The President is given far too much leeway on how to spend (lump sums.)”
University of the Philippines Law Professor Dante Gatmaytan explained the reasons why the Supreme Court ruled the PDAF as illegal. But Gatmaytan took it a step further by explaining why the many other lump sum funds in the national budget are unconstitutional as well.
Gatyamtan said the primary problem with PDAF, and with other lump sum funds, is the fact that the person given control over these funds have too much leeway and not enough checks and balances in place.
“Usually the President is given far too much leeway on how to spend (these lump sums.) We cannot do that,” Gatmaytan said. The best way to check on the constitutionality of these lump sums is by checking for “completeness” and “sufficient standards.”
“The law should lay down the guidelines or the limits in law to map out the boundaries of the authority and to prevent the delegation of this authority from running riot,” Gatyamtan said. “But the problem with Presidential pork is that it doesn’t (lay down the guidelines). It is a free for all.”
The operative phrase in the GAA regulating the use of lump sum funds, Gatmaytan said, is usually the phrase “and for such other uses as may be hereafter directed by the President.”
Gatmaytan said this phrase alone already renders moot all other attempts to regulate the use of presidential pork.
During the open forum, Professor Gatmaytan warned that legislators will use any way to restore the pork barrel in whatever form, especially now that the PDAF has been struck down as unconstitutional. For example, Gatmaytan cited the case of Mindoro Rep Rey Umali who was quoted in news reports as saying he was mulling the filing of an impeachment complaint against the Supreme Court Justices who voted against the PDAF. Umali, incidentally, is a member of the ruling Liberal Party.
“They will always think of ways to restore their entitlements,” Gatmaytan said. Briones however pointed out that pork has always been enjoyed by both the executive and the legislative.
Briones said it is not just the legislators who have benefited from pork, since the executive uses the pork to manipulate the legislators. “PDAF is used by the executive to convince Congress to pass their appropriations. It is a quid pro quo. The PDAF system has benefited both the executive and the legislature, and is used as a bargaining point.”
For his part, Diokno said legislators have threatened to hold the confirmation of certain cabinet secretaries unless they get what they want in terms of the pork barrel. This could be in the form of the release of their pork, to the implementation of the project itself.
“We need to change the rules,” Diokno said. “No one should sit until he is confirmed, just like in the US system. So that way, you cannot promise anything to Congress (in exchange for your confirmation.”
Diokno said the best way to safeguard against abuse of pork barrel is by strengthening the principles of transparency and accountability. For example, Diokno said a Freedom of Information act would be helpful in monitoring legislators and keeping them on their toes; as well, a more honest electoral system to ensure that the right people are elected to both Congress and the executive.
Commission on Audit Comm. Heidi Mendoza: “The issue of PDAF is a reflection of the weaknesses in the implementation of the procurement law.”
Commission on Audit Commissioner Heidi Mendoza stressed that the issue of PDAF is only the symptom of an even bigger problem – the failure to properly implement Republic ACt 9184, or AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE MODERNIZATION, STANDARIZATION AND REGULATION OF THE PROCUREMENT ACTIVITIES OF THE GOVERNMENT, otherwise known as the Procurement Reform Law.
“When we look at the different reports, there was no bidding, bogus NGOs, no delivery – all of these are violations of RA 9184,” Mendoza said. “Nagkulang tayo sa implementation ng napakagandang batas.” Mendoza says the law itself was beautiful in that it institutionalized citizen involvement in the monitoring of the bidding and procurement process.
“The citizen can observe public procurement,” she said. “Kung tayo naging aktibo at tama ang pagpapatupad ng 9184, we would not have much to report in terms of how much PDAF was utilized.”
This, Mendoza said, is why it is important for citizens to be heavily engaged in what she calls the citizens participatory audit, an effort by the COA to involve more citizens in the business of governance.
Mendoza said the citizens participatory audit is hinged on the need to tap the local community so that they hold their leaders accountable.
As well, Mendoza stressed the need to engage students who are educated and idealistic. At the same time Mendoza echoed the statements of other speakers that the public should also look at other lump sum and pork-like funds and not just the controversial PDAF.
For example, Mendoza said the public should also monitor the use of internal revenue allotments, called the lifeblood of the local government units. Mendoza said that the same issues that afflict the PDAF also afflict the IRA, which is not as controversial and closely monitored as the PDAF is now.
“Magkakamaganak ang mga ito.” Mendoza said.
As well, Mendoza said there needs to be closer monitoring of the 20 percent development fund given to barangays, which are sometimes just used for junkets to gain the support of barangay officials; and the special education fund, which is supposed to be used by the city schools.
In one instance, Mendoza said, a municipality simply bought gift certificates using these funds and distributed these to the teachers.
At the same time Mendoza announced that the COA would be launching a “Relief Tracker” to engage citizens and governments in the monitoring of how much aid has come in for victims of supertyphoon Yolanda and where this aid had gone. Mendoza said the relief tracker would include cash donations and goods from both local and international sources.
The relief tracker, Mendoza said, was developed by volunteer citizens with the participation of COA. Local and international donors would be given an access code so that they can upload data on how much they had donated for the relief effort.
“Our objective is to determine the total basket of funds that went into disaster,” Mendoza said.
Karol Ilagan PCIJ Research Director: Some reform, but many old problems.
PCIJ Research Director Karol Ilagan said that while there have been some reforms in the way the pork barrel was being handled by the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III, there were still many issues that remain that make the pork barrel a hub of patronage and politicking.
For example, the Aquino administration introduced a menu of projects that legislators should only choose from, as designated by the implementing agencies.
As well, the projects must match the priority list provided by the agency. The project must also prioritize 4th to 6th class municipalities, and the project details must also be posted in the implementing agency’s website.
However, a study by the PCIJ showed the following:
Lawmakers still chose the project, the beneficiary, the implementing agency, and in some cases, the NGOs that would implement the project on the ground;
Lawmakers also poured their pork in their bailiwicks instead of in poor and needy towns;
Senators flooded the national capital region and other vote-rich provinces with their pork;
Legislators spent much of their pork on consumable items which are hard to monitor and good for only one use;
There was a lot of cheap, short term infrastructure projects;
There were instances of project duplication.
Ilagan also demonstrated the links on pork barrel disbursements and spending by legislators in the PCIJ’s MoneyPolitics Online website. The site features databases on pork barrel spending by members of the 15th Congress, pork-funded public works projects, public works projects awarded by government from 2001 to April 2013, and audit reports on pork-funded projects. These databases are new entries on the PCIJ’s Money Politics Online website.
Learnings by and from the “crowd”: Shifting strategies in 2014
Representatives from the online community, citizen journalists, civil society groups, and the youth sector agree on the need to continue and escalate the campaign against all lump sum funds in the budget in 2014 and beyond.
However, there may be a need to shift strategies in light of the Supreme Court decision declaring the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) unconstitutional.
Noemi Dado, editor of BlogWatch and a member of the #ScrapPorkNetwork, noted the need to draw the public’s attention to the other lump sum funds that remain in the budget even with the removal of the PDAF.
While the pork of legislators was an issue that was easy to unite against, there have been some disagreements within civil society on whether the President’s own pork should be removed as well.
“Not everyone was convinced that presidential pork should be abolished,” Dado said. “There were just those who loved the President.”
In addition, even the media seemed to have lost some interest in the other pork-like funds in the budget, as may be seen in the lesser volume of stories on lump sum funds after the SC struck down the PDAF.
What the campaign needs now, Dado says, is a “shift in the fulcrum to smaller venues such as schools and workplaces.”
“We need school-based and work-based organizations (to carry the campaign forward),” Dado said. “We need to take an active role as citizens, and bombard legislators with our message.”
But in the end, Dado said there was a need for all campaigners to “study, and study more” the issue of lump sum funds. Those who advocate issues must be the first to understand the issues before they can interest and engage the public.
Dado also noted the need for everyone to “get out, and not just stay online.”
one of the videos produced by the #ScrapPorkNetwork
Juned Sonido, another blogger, and Red Tani of the Filipino Freethinkers, noted the need to craft messages that are are sharp, clear, and compelling to renew the public’s interest in all things pork.
Sonido warned against “information overload,” saying this could discourage citizens who may otherwise be tapped in the campaign. The challenge, Sonido said, is to translate the information about pork and package it as messages that ordinary people can relate to.
Sonido also warned that netizens should be cognizant of the digital divide where only a third of Filipinos have access to the internet. As such, an online campaign will only have a significant impact if the campaigners are able to use the online platforms to move people into action: Use online platforms to make people act offline, so to speak.
Tani for his part spoke of the many ways by which anti-pork campaigners could capture audiences just by being more creative and clear.
There are many tools in the internet to snazz up graphics and video clips to deliver the message to an uninterested public, Tani said. You can be as creative as you want, Tani added, so long as your message sticks to the facts.
Tani pointed out that a common misconception is that social media activists have an easy and willing audience. In truth, he said, social media activists need to compete with a whole lot of other topics that can draw the eyeballs – everything from pornography to cats.
“The challenge is how to deliver the message creatively,” Tani said. “You have to find that balance, how to compromise so that your message is delivered clearly.”
Tani pointed to what he called “the disaster effect,” where people are moved into action by a recent disaster, and then go back into hibernation between disasters.
Tani also said that anti-pork campaigners should be wary of the “bystander effect,” where people may be interested in an issue, but lull themselves into thinking that someone else is already doing something about the problem.
“The danger is that everyone things that someone else will do something that matters,” Tani said.
Students from various universities in and outside Metro Manila also pitched in.
One student said his school already has a “pork class” where students and teachers come together informally to discuss the pork barrel issue outside their class schedules. Yet another student proposed that the pork issue be included in the curriculum of students.
The proposal was further refined to one where schools should include subjects that emphasize the need for both transparency and accountability in government, as well as civic action on the part of the public.
Yet another proposal called for subjects that encourage more critical thinking in Philippine schools, so that students are encouraged to challenge assertions made by their community leaders, and put these assertions to the test.
All however agreed on the need for more openness and transparency in governance as a first step in preventing abuse and limiting the discretionary nature of lump sum funds.
CORRUPTION IS A CRIME which thrives in the shadows, and transparency and accountability are the best ways to fight it, say United Nations officials on the eve of International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9, Monday.
“Corruption is a crime against development which thrives in the shadows. International Anti-Corruption Day is an opportunity to shed light on the damage it does, and to reaffirm our commitment to act against it,” said United Nations Development Programme administrator Helen Clarke in a message posted at the International Anti-Corruption Day website here.
“Preventing and combating corruption requires transparency and accountability at all levels,” Clark said. “Taking back what was lost to corrupt practices is everyone’s responsibility – governments and civil society organizations, the private sector and the media, the general public, and youth who will play a pivotal role in seeing this agenda through so that their future is built on solid and honest foundations.”
“I encourage each of you to act against corruption today, to shine a light on those shadows, so that we can move together towards a better world,” Clark added.
International Anti-Corruption Day is an initiative spearheaded by the UNDP and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as a means to focus the global fight against corruption and enlist the assistance of civil society groups and the citizenry. In the Philippines, the UN activity on International Anti-Corruption Day will be highlighted by a forum organized by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism entitled Pork and Other Perks: The Citizens’ To-Do Tasks for 2014 and Beyond. The forum seeks to draw proposals and commitments from the citizenry on how they intend to monitor the use of lump sum funds following a series of scandals on the use of the pork barrel funds.
The PCIJ forum will be held at Annabel’s Restaurant in Tomas Morato Quezon City from 9am to 5pm. Public finance and legal experts will give lectures on the pork barrel and pork-like funds in the morning, while CSOs, citizen journalists, and bloggers will share ideas on how to guard the pork in the afternoon.
At the same time UNODC Executive Director Yuy Fedotov called on countries that have still not ratified the UN Convention against Corruption to affix their signatures on the 10 year old document.
“With 164 States parties, UNCAC is close to universal adherence. Calls have been made by all major fora, including the UN General Assembly, the G8 and the G20, encouraging countries that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention to do so. Today, I strongly urge the international community to maintain this momentum and the remaining 30 Member States of the UN to adopt the Convention as soon as possible,” Fedotov said. “However, adoption is only the first milestone. If we are to be truly successful in the fight against corruption, every State must fully implement the Convention. Anti-corruption words, must be supported by anti-corruption deeds.”
PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER ASSUME that corruption is an inevitable and acceptable part of life.
This is the message of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon as the UN, civil society groups, and various governments prepare to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day on Monday, December 9.
The United Nations has declared December 9 as the world day against corruption to highlight efforts to stamp out corruption worldwide, and both harness and focus the energies of government, multilateral organizations, and civil society groups against corruption.
The theme of the global campaign is “Zero Corruption, 100% Development.” The theme seeks to draw attention to how corruption hinders efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs.
In the Philippines, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has been chosen to organize the event to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day, with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The activity will be a Monday forum on Pork and Other Perks: The Citizens’ To-Do Tasks for 2014 and Beyond. The forum seeks to draw ideas from government, civil society, journalists and citizen journalists on how we can address the abuse of pork barrel and pork-like funds in the national budget.
In his message, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon emphasized that corruption should never be seen as the normal state of things; rather, corruption is the result of greed and abuse.
“Corruption is not inevitable,” Ban said. “It flows from greed and the triumph of the undemocratic few over the expectations of the many.”
“On International Anti-Corruption Day, I call on everyone to work towards a sustainable future where corruption is exposed and rejected, where integrity prevails, and where the hopes and dreams of millions are realized,”Ban said.
Ban added that the price of corruption is not really measured in currency, but rather in the absence of basic services for the poor and the needy.
“The cost of corruption is measured not just in the billions of dollars of squandered or stolen government resources, but most poignantly in the absence of the hospitals, schools, clean water, roads and bridges that might have been built with that money and would have certainly changed the fortunes of families and communities,” Ban added. “Corruption destroys opportunities and creates rampant inequalities. It undermines human rights and good governance, stifles economic growth and distorts markets.”
Read the full message of the UN Secretary-General on the occasion of World Anti-Corruption Day here.
SUPERTYPHOON YOLANDA not only devastated lives and properties in Eastern Visayas, it also cut a wide swathe through the sector that had been giving a voice to the region: The Eastern Visayas media.
Since much of the public infrastructure and private property in the region has been destroyed by the supertyphoon, the local media community is struggling to get back on its feet against daunting odds.
With no stable power supply and many of their equipment washed out or destroyed, many of the local media outfits in the affected areas have been forced to stop publication or broadcast, according to Ricky Bautista, editor of the Samar Weekly Express.
Bautista: Local media struggling to survive
Local journalists now try to eke out a living by acting as guides for the national and international media agencies that have swooped down on the region to cover the Yolanda tragedy. Other than that, there is no work available for the local media, and no way to put food on the table, Bautista said.
In fact, some colleagues have taken on odd jobs to survive. One radio broadcaster, Bausta said, is now peddling fish in Tacloban City in order to feed his family because his radio station has stopped operations.
Unfortunately, even that job isn’t pulling in the money; people in the area are wary of eating fish because of all the dead and unclaimed bodies still scattered in the coastal areas of the region.
“My colleagues in media have not been able to work, because we no longer have a media outlet,” Bautista said in Filipino. “There is no certainty when we can all go back to work again.”
“I saw (a colleague) peddling fish so that he can move on,” Bautista added. “Only a fourth of his house is still standing after the typhoon, because he lived near the sea. I was luckier – only a fourth of my house was destroyed.”
Baustista’s newspaper, the Samar Weekly Express, was forced to shut down because Yolanda devastated both Basey town where Bautista is based, and Tacloban City where the newspaper is published. As well, the storm forced the closure of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express, the mother newspaper of Bautista’s weekly paper. In its website, the last entry of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express was dated November 6, two days before Yolanda made landfall.
At least five media workers in the region were killed as a result of typhoon Yolanda, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. Some of the casualties were radio reporters and anchors who were doing their jobs reporting the arrival of the typhoon when they were killed by the storm surge.
Other than that, scores of Visayas journalists were left homeless and jobless after the typhoon tore through the region. Printing presses and broadcast studios were damaged or destroyed, laptops and computers were rendered inoperable by the floods, files and records were lost.
The few local news agencies that had been able to resume operations were only able to do so because they have a tie-up with the giant national news agencies that are based in Manila, Bautista said. Otherwise, the local media community is, for all intents and purposes, dead in the water, he said.
Right now, Bautista said, many of the local journalists just hang around near the Leyte park, hoping to be hired as a local guide for the many international and national media agencies that have flown in. Others act as translators for foreign relief organizations that have set up shop in Tacloban.
Unfortunately, everyone knows that this would only be a temporary affair; in the next few weeks, there would be less need for such guides as media and relief agencies start scaling down their operations. When that happens, the local media community would have to scramble to make ends meet .
“They have been asking me, are there any more jobs?” Bautista said of his colleagues. “This is the only job we know.”
The pressing need now is for the local media to make a living and put food on the table. Bautista, the editor, says he is now surviving on relief goods and the kindness of colleagues visiting from Manila. The one time he was able to get a job was when he was hired by the New York Times as a guide, but that stint only lasted for two days.
The long-term problem is how the region’s media will be able to get back on its feet. The scale of the destruction is so breathtakingly massive that no one can say with any degree of certainty what the long term impact of the tragedy will have on the Eastern Visayan media. Too much infrastructure and personal property has been damaged or destroyed for anyone to make an educated guess.
For his part, Bautista says, all he hopes to have soon is a stable supply of electricity. Once that is in place, Bautista says, then perhaps they can start thinking of tomorrow, and the day after.
“All I want is for the electricity to return,” Bautista said. “That is where it all starts. If electricity returns, then my life will resume again, and we can have a semblance of a normal life, and we can write and report again. That is the time we can start to move on.”
