On my way to tell the story

On my way to Edinburgh, Scotland, I had a brief stopover in Hong Kong to attend the 25th anniversary of the First Pacific Group. The celebration was a big affair here at the former British crown colony, held at the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel, with a gala concert featuring big Filipino stars and celebrities like Sharon Cuneta, Martin Nievera, Kuh Ledesma, Zsa Zsa Padilla and Lani Misalucha. First Pacific has been doing so well, managing director and CEO Manny Pangilinan decided to invite the "Who’s Who" from Manila to join in the celebrations like mall magnate Tessie Sy Coson, Bobby Ongpin and of course, STAR CEO Miguel Belmonte and his lovely wife Millet, STAR editor-in-chief Isaac Belmonte and his charming wife Isa, Philip and Sandy Romualdez and Smart’s top honcho Polly Nazareno with his wife Cecille.

Sorely missed was our STAR chairman and publisher Max Soliven who could not make it. Other VIPs included former president Cory Aquino and Manny’s longtime First Pacific partner Anthony Salim. It was in 1981 when Manny, a Wharton School of Business graduate, started First Pacific with Anthony and now the partnership has turned it into a billion dollar operation that it is today with huge interests in the telecoms, food and real estate businesses. The dynamic conglomerate is set to grow even bigger this year, with plans to invest more on a number of industries like food and infrastructure in the Asian region.

Arriving at Edinburgh, Scotland yesterday, I will be representing the Philippine STAR at the International Press Institute’s 55th General Assembly and World Congress at the behest of Max Soliven. It really is an honor for me to be here where world-renowned journalists and media executives will be gathered to discuss various issues affecting the press. The last time I was in an IPI gathering was at the 10th anniversary of the IPI headquarters in Vienna, Austria in 2002 with Max. It was also a very big affair and we were guests of the Austrian government. We had the chance to meet Thomas Klestil, who was Austria’s Federal President at the time.

Edinburgh is a city built on numerous hills and valleys, and it is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It has been the capital of Scotland since the 15th century and was named after Edwin, an ancient Northumbrian king who founded the city, originally known as "Edwin’s Fort," in the year 625. One of the biggest attractions of Edinburgh is the Edinburgh Castle, built on a rock overlooking the city, and which receives about a million visitors every year. A lot of historical significance is attached to the Castle, and of particular interest is a tiny room where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI of Scotland who was to become James I of England when Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603.

The Castle has withstood numerous sieges and every time the marauders would always spare the tiny St. Margaret’s Chapel, a Norman structure that’s been standing intact for more than 900 years. Scotland of course is known for its whisky and it’s been said that a visit would not be complete without sampling a "wee dram" of "uisge beatha" or what the ancient Celts called the "water of life." Unfortunately, I am not really a whisky drinker.

I am told by our IPI coordinator Phil Taylor that the World Congress is well attended by representatives from various media outfits. I will be giving a five to seven minute speech at the forum session entitled "Dying to tell the story" to be held here at the Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh. I will be one of the panelists, along with Rodney Pinder, director of the Brussels-based International News Safety Institute and Guy Delva, secretary-general of the SOS Journalistes in Haiti. Keynote speaker during the session is Chris Cramer, president of CNN International.

Media men all over the world are really "dying to hear the story" about what’s happening in the Philippines. We are obviously getting a lot of bad press once again because of the alarming number of Filipino journalists being killed almost weekly. It seems that even as I write this column, there could be a journalist killed somewhere in the Philippines. This really is a black eye for the Philippines, having been given the dubious distinction of being the "most murderous" place for journalists with the sheer number of media men targeted by assassins. Iraq is probably understandable, but the Philippines where we are supposed to be a democracy? It’s really unfortunate.

Even if I am honored to be representing the Philippine STAR and our publisher, it pains me to be the one to tell our colleagues at the IPI about the number of journalists literally dying just because they dare to "tell the story." The findings of the International News Safety Institute set up by the IPI and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in 2002 on the first ever global inquiry into safety of journalists will be revealed. As the forum session brief reads, "What did it find, and now that we know all the facts, what must we do to make our profession as safe as it can be?" I’m sure the findings will be interesting.

In the meantime, I hope to find the time to drop by the St. Andrews Golf Course in Fife, which I understand is about one-and-a-half to two hours away from Edinburgh. I won’t have a chance to play golf because of time constraints — anyway, I know all the tee time is fully booked till September. Which is just as well because it’s not a very easy course to play.

From Edinburgh I will be traveling to London where I will visit the plant of a British company, Mabey & Johnson – arranged by my friend Ted Haresco, their local partner in the Philippines. Mabey & Johnson has built thousands of bridges in the Philippines but more important – which is really worth mentioning – is the fact that they have set up a scholarship fund with the big bulk given by Ted himself, to help the children of slain Filipino journalists build their future through the Bevil Mabey Study Foundation.

Tomorrow is the day I will be telling the story. It’s not going to be good for the Philippines, but I certainly hope the government realizes the killing of journalists in the Philippines is already taking center stage in the world press like the one I am attending today. If this continues and these murders are not solved quickly, we can expect the world media to gang up on us – giving us the bad press that we definitely cannot afford to have.

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