Media as the hostage

Last Tuesday’s public hearing conducted by the Senate committee on public information brought to the forefront the sensitive question of the media’s responsibility to practice self-restraint when covering such sensitive situations as the August 23 hostage taking. Many television watchers believe that the hostage-taker actually broke into a shooting rampage after seeing on the bus’ television unit the rough handling of his brother by policemen — this after a supposed telephone conversation between the hostage taker and a broadcast reporter convinced the former to reject the letter from the Ombudsman which agreed to review his termination case, not his reinstatement. Observers say that had not the two media “interventions” taken place, the tourists from Hong Kong may not have been killed.

Executives of broadcast networks acknowledged that they should have been restrained on their coverage, but they emphasized too that had they received instructions from government authorities on the limits to their coverage, they would have followed them.

In fact many also say that the Luneta hostage-taking tragedy ended the way it did because there was no single authority in total command of the situation. There was a motley group of police and government officials who tried to resolve the problem, but nobody who was really invested with the direct and singular authority to call the shots. It became a classic case of “too many cooks” and no master chef.

The PNP contingent for instance, had Director Leocadio Santiago of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO); Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay, head of the Manila Police District; Supt. Orlando Yebra, who acted as chief negotiator with the hostage taker; and Chief Inspector Romeo Salvador, deputy negotiator.        

Among the civilian officials who played one role or another were Secretaries Ricky Carandang and Sonny Coloma of the Malacañang Communications Group, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, his Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, and Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

If we are to take the assessment of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, the tragedy started out as a simple “police matter.” However, it quickly deteriorated into an international incident due to serious missteps and false assumptions.

As it turned out, the one man who should have been on top of this “police matter,” Secretary Robredo, was purportedly deprived of authority and supervision over the police force even before the incident by virtue of a directive from President Noynoy Aquino himself. That authority and supervision were instead lodged on Usec Puno who admitted that he did not possess the experience and training in dealing with hostage situations. This led Robredo to disclaim responsibility over the turnout of the incident, saying he was actually “out of the loop” during the entire situation.

Throughout the crisis period, media played a crucial role in informing the public of what was happening, to the extent that it was accused of “interference” during the negotiations for the release of the hostages. Questions on ethical conduct during media coverage were raised. At least one broadcast reporter and anchorman was said to have admitted that “in some aspect, media did not do its job.”

Elaborating further, this reporter and anchorman said the problem is traceable to the battle for audience ratings. “The problem here is the ratings. Some of our colleagues will not accept it but it’s true. That’s the bottom line there. The higher the ratings, the more commercials you get,” he said.

Situations such as the Luneta killing demonstrate how the media can be a hostage to their need to get to the crime scene and make their reports ahead of the competition.

The attempt at one-upmanship in delivering blow-by-blow accounts of events in real time is a situation unique to the broadcast media. In the print media at least, a reporter has several hours to buttonhole a news source and prevent being “scooped” by a colleague.         

Still, the possibility of being upstaged by other reporters is a problem that confronts media people from day to day. Often, this puts them in a quandary, particularly in situations that involve the private lives of certain public personalities.

The most terrible situation where media practitioners became virtual hostages was the political conflict in Maguindanao where the 32 reporters who perished had no choice but to provide media coverage for the filing of the certificate of candidacy of now Governor Esmael Mangudadatu. Many of them may have been aware of the possibility of an ambush but their calling demanded that they join the convoy.          

It was a relevant event that the public was entitled to be informed about. And the 32 media persons became unwitting hostages to a situation that, tragically, cost them their lives.

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In another front, the good news is that Filipinos abroad — and the locals — have powder mix packs to really enjoy Pinoy-tasting dishes, through Mama Sita’s Homestyle Filipino Recipes.

Perhaps no three dishes exemplify the Filipino cook’s great skill for innovation and inventiveness than pansit bihon, pinapaitan and sisig,” says food scientist and connoisseur Clara Reyes Lapus.  

Pansit tops the list of most “made over” dishes, with hundreds of varieties that represent a diverse array of geographical regions, cultural practice and natural resources, Clara says. There’s pansit batchoy from the Visayas, pansit bato from Bato, Camarines Sur, and pansit habhab from Lucban, Quezon.

Pansit was brought over to this country by the Hokkienese. Clara says the term for the noodle was “pian i sit,” meaning “something conveniently cooked fast.” The well-loved noodle became the subject of innovations. In Tanza, Cavite locals eat their pansit bihon with kilawing papaya, and aptly call it pansit kilawin. Pansit Malabon has become a national favorite.

Mama Sita’s Homestyle Filipino Recipes recreates the cherished and distinct flavor of pancit bihon through its tried and tested powder mix. And does the same for pinapaitan and sisig.

Pinapaitan in Ilocano means “to make bitter.” This is a special stew that used to be served at a separate party held on the eve, or after the official reception at the home of the bride or celebrator. Clara fails to say it, but my understanding is that this dish is made from the innards and bile of goat. I see many macho men enjoy eating this dish with beer and Tanduay rum. With the powder mix, OFWs in Saudi can have the dish — downed with a drink they may concoct too.

Mama Sita’s pork sisig can be recreated by adding the powdered mix to boiled pig’s ears and pig’s tail in vinegar, chopped scallions, salt and pepper.

The continuous evolution of the country’s culinary culture was started by Mama Sita Reyes, founder of the Aristocrat chain of restaurants. To bring Philippine cuisine to global attention, she pioneered the production and export of the first 100 percent Filipino line of seasoning mix in early 1970. In 1983, she launched the innovative annatto powder — an all-natural, non-artificial food color, which found favor among cooks and chefs who sought healthier seasonings.

Mama Sita broke new grounds by creating several new seasonings that were tastier and healthier. These include the 3-MPCD-free oyster sauce made from real oysters, and the anatoxin-free peanut based produced used in the making the all-time favorite kare-kare. In 1985, Mama Sita’s BBQ marinade was introduced in the market.

Now, her three new mixes — available at supermarkets and food stores, and outlets in the US and Middle East — which have been tried and tested, and manufactured by Mama Sita’s daughter Clara Lapus, are the Capampangan Sisig (Citrus-Pepper Spice Mix), Pansit Bihon (Rice Noodle Stir-Fry Mix) and Ilocano Pinapaitan (Bitter Stew Mix). With these three mixes, one can recreate the authentic flavors of the original dishes that Mama Sita was famous for.

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