Conspiracy of information

Except for one thin national newspaper, no other paper in the country, big or small, carried on their front pages last Thursday the favorable stand the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines had toward the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao by President Arroyo.

This was surprising, considering that the CBCP is always good copy and that its position on anything controversial has always been eagerly anticipated by a controversy-loving Philippine media.

And it was not only the newspapers that did not give the story the proper treatment it deserved. The major television networks also did not include it in their major stories for the day.

The only paper that carried it on page one actually bannered it. Now, the appreciation of stories may vary from newspaper to newspaper and from editor to editor. But as a journalist of 28 years, I swear that such a story clearly merited at least a page one treatment.

"We stand by the position taken by the Archdiocese of Cotabato within whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction the tragedy occurred and martial law imposed," said Bishop Nereo Odchimar, the CBCP president.

Odchimar was referring to a pastoral letter issued the Monday before by Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato that said the massacre of 57 civilians in Maguindanao on November 23 called for "extraordinary action."

In a separate pastoral letter, issued shortly after that of Quevedo, Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaporo said "Most people in Maguindanao and Central Mindanao favor the declaration of martial law."

Like Quevedo, however, the bishops called on the government not to prolong the martial law imposition. "The longer it is, the more likely human rights violations will occur," Quevedo said.

And it was not only the CBCP position that seemed willfully deprived of the prominence required of such a newsworthy story. Other stories that also tended to go along with martial law were not given proper airing as well.

The most promiment of these "shoved aside stories" was that television interview of Fr. Joaquin Bernas, one of the framers of the 1987 "Freedom" Constitution. Highly respected, Bernas is often sought after by news organizations seeking insights on constitutional matters.

Yet Bernas did not go all out against martial law as what the television network may have anticipated. On the contrary, he sounded guardedly for it. According to Bernas, much of the criticisms against martial law is attributable to the unpopularity of President Arroyo.

Bernas, a real insider to all the sentiments that coated each and every provision of the Constitution, who understands all the intricate nuances that call for their invocation, could have come out with guns blazing against any perversion of the basic law he helped craft.

But he did not do that. He suggested that the uproar was largely directed at Arroyo and not against martial law per se. Now I could be wrong, but probably because of that sentiment, the television interview did not get wide airing.

Under different circumstances, the views of the CBCP and Bernas would have generated, if not screaming headlines, at least some prominent space on the front page and in the prime time newscasts.

One more thing. The Philippine media is quite known for digging up even the most sordid details. But in the case of the slain journalists, certain details like how five staffers from one paper and four from another were in the ambushed convoy appear to have been glossed over.