Grassroots & Governance
By Teresa S. Abesamis
BusinessWorld
By Teresa S. Abesamis
BusinessWorld
Jeane Lim-Napoles
WHILE a third of our people often suffer involuntary hunger, there is a small minority who cannot seem to moderate their greed. What has caused our society to breed incredible obscenities such as Janet Napoles, et al? How can we have families like the super-wealthy Marcoses and their cronies, the Ampatuans and other politicians, and even jurists flaunting their obviously illicit wealth for years, and not have communities dragging them to a lynching post?
These criminals (many of whom have the gall to flaunt their material possessions in society pages) are fortunate that we are a kind people whose faith in God’s wisdom allows them to physically survive even for generations. Otherwise, our country would be a boiling pot of violence and outrage; and Filipinos would be shedding each other’s blood in the streets, as is happening now in the Middle East.
More and more, as these crimes (which is what they are, no less) are brought out in the open, we must increasingly appreciate the need to promote transparency and accountability in the use of government’s resources; and to strengthen our rule of law that penalizes crimes against the people. We are a long way from there, but recent events render these issues urgent. Heroes like Grace Pulido Tan of the Commission on Audit, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and Justice Secretary Leila De Lima who are leading the way should be cheered on and encouraged in their crucial and dangerous work.
How did we arrive at this level of shamelessness and corruption? We need to go through a process of deep reflection as a people. A radical reorientation in values and aspirations needs to be mobilized, because this is at the root of the corruption.
We must start with our leaders in governance, business, education and religion. Who are our role models? We have a retired cardinal in Cebu who lives in a private mansion equipped with a heated indoor swimming pool. And the papers report that retired Quiapo parish priest Monsignor Josefino Ramirez lives in ritzy Magallanes Village, courtesy of Janet Napoles, who perhaps hopes this gesture will ward off evil spirits and protect her from harm. Even the rebel leader Nur Misuari, at the height of his political power as governor of ARMM, is said to have spent more time in Metro Manila rather than in Mindanao. I once saw him surrounded by his surrogates having cocktails at a five-star hotel in Makati, while his constituents’ children had little access to textbooks and health care. The TV comedian Willy Revillame is reported to have recently acquired a Rolls Royce.
When I watch local television, I often have to shift channels because I cannot bear the inanities and silliness that seem to dominate our broadcast media. There seems to be little seriousness, critical thinking and edifying content. I find, strangely enough, more edifying content and depth in CCTV, the channel that is aired from the People’s Republic of China, even as I brush away some of the propaganda content. Al Jazeera, surprisingly aired from Qatar, also goes deeper into the issues, and for me, provides more balanced coverage that hardly indicates its Middle Eastern roots.
Government, obviously since the EDSA revolution, avoids too much interference in mass media content. However, there must be a way for private sector leaders to try and influence media content, especially broadcast which has the widest coverage and deepest reach of our communities. Mass media could be making more impact on our mindsets than do schools. Of course, advertisers, who mainly finance broadcasts, tend to look at cost per thousand audience members reached, and the wilder and sillier, the bigger the audience. Surely, the advertisers can also be mobilized to support edifying values-laden media content as their contribution to social responsibility. There is enough creative capability in our country for this to happen. What we need is support from advertisers and, perhaps, even government.
Perhaps, for starters, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board with majority private sector participation, or some counterpart institution, can be strengthened so that it can harness the awesome power of mass media to increasingly raise the quality of media content so that it becomes an ally in more effective human development for our country. Perhaps a percentage of primetime media content can be allocated for edifying values education. If this is done imaginatively, advertisers might support the effort. If we are to grow as a people, we cannot afford totally freewheeling mass media. It has too much power for good and evil.
No comments:
Post a Comment