Trial by publicity

In the Philippines, and I’m sure in many parts of the world as well, we have a terrible tendency to follow what they call “mob mentality.” This means that if someone riles people up enough with impassioned speeches (even before compiling all the real material evidence), they tend to believe it and follow suit. This has become even truer with the advent of social media. In fact, one has to wonder whether the availability of social media is more detrimental than beneficial. After all, people can post their comments and their ideas there without fear of libel suits or repercussions. Plus so many spam and satirical news sites pervade the World Wide Web that an unsuspecting netizen may view a story that is false and see it as gospel truth.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not against the availability of information. And there have definitely been times that the Internet has been used to spread 100% accurate stories that have brought many a corrupt politician or public servant to their knees. The problem is there is no way to properly sift through all the information available and see which is true and which is just assumption. That being said, it gives the “mob” the ability to glorify or vilify without prejudice as most of the ordinary citizens can’t or won’t take the time to truly do their own research and just rely on what is being spoon-fed to them.

The way things sit in our current society we now truly presume that anyone in public office, or those who serve the public interest, are doing so just because they want to be corrupt and earn/steal a lot of money. While that may be true in some case – or even in most cases (like the cohorts of Janet Napoles), for the most part it seems unfair to lump all public servants in the same category without due process. It seems unfair, as there are still truly those who want to serve – who receive a smaller pay, who give up time with own families, and sometimes even lose their lives in the call of duty. It seems like such a terrible way to repay their sacrifice by categorizing them all in with the rest.

In fact, it reminds me of the conversation that recently made it’s rounds on the Internet between Ben Affleck, the Hollywood actor who will be the next Batman, and comedian and television host Bill Maher on the latter’s television show ‘Real Time with Bill Maher.’ Affleck was in a heated debate with the host and his fellow guest over generalizing an entire population based on the bad actions of certain members of the population. While the debate was centered about Muslims and jihadists – a Filipino example was brought up with Maher saying “I mean if Filipinos were capturing teenagers and sending them into white slavery, we would criticize that. We wouldn’t say, oh well, they’re Filipinos.” To which Affleck shot back “Yes, but you would criticize the people who are doing it, not the Philippines. A Filipino kid on the streets has nothing to do with that. These are different things.”

The point is, people do bad things. People in government can do bad things. People in public service can do bad things. This has been proven. But it doesn’t automatically follow that everyone else in public service does bad things or will do bad things. While I understand that is hard to accept considering how let down we have been by our public servants, it’s unfair to just generalize and paint everyone with the same broad brush. I am currently talking about the embattled Chief of Police, General Alan Purisima, who is being accused of plunder in the Ombudsman and being nailed to the cross (pre-trial) by many members of the media and society as a whole.

It seems wholly unfair to pass judgment without knowing the whole story and before getting an accurate picture. I don’t know General Purisima personally, but I do know he came before the Senate willingly, without being forced, and was very candid answering all their questions. He opened his home up to the media and seemed like he had nothing to hide. His home was indeed nice, but is no “mansion,” by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, if the media is looking for men and women with mansions, I’m sure there are still plenty more in political seats they can focus their attention on instead.

I just feel it’s just another misdirection tactic. There are many in politics that would rather focus on Purisima than on other real problems that beg for solutions in the Philippines. How about we put this circus to rest and turn our attention instead on real problems that need solutions like the horrible traffic, the rotting goods in the Manila Port, the problems on infrastructure, the falling-apart airport, the continued rehabilitation of those affected by Typhoon Yolanda, the rising criminality in Manila, and the continued rise in the cost of goods and services. Surely these things should be given as much attention as the Police Chief’s “Olympic sized swimming pool” — which, as we all now know, was proven to be nowhere near this description.

*      *      *

In life, we will come across many acquaintances, but very few of these will actually go beyond that to become real and true friends. This comes to mind as I look with fondness at my special car keychain, which was a pasalubong from my Spanish-Filipino friend Jose ‘Pepe’ Rodriguez from his many travels to Madrid. I have been fortunate enough to count Pepe as one of my good friends who I have known over the years.

This extremely talented former Manila Overseas Press Club president just recently launched his fifth book, Front Pages of Philippine History (Primas Paginas De La Historia De Filipinas) at a special book launch at the Raffles Hotel in Makati City. The event was well-attended by members of the media, as well as the diplomatic, society, politics, and business circles with everyone praising the book as a great read and must-have.

The book chronicles Philippine history as seen through carefully curated newspaper articles in English, Filipino, and Spanish. Many of the articles are from Pepe’s own personal archives as the former Asian Bureau Chief of Spanish International News Agency EFE. Indeed, the format of the book and the topic are not surprising as Pepe not only loves the news but loves the Philippines as well having chosen to live here permanently along with his wife, renowned portrait artist, Lulu Coching whose incredible oil paintings of Philippine presidents and first ladies decorate the walls of Malacanang Palace.

I highly recommend the book and share Pepe’s view that knowing history is an integral part in creating our future. He mentioned that a big mistake many people make today is thinking that we are already “finished” and therefore don’t need to know our past. His book serves to show that valuing our history is always important as we write our own.

Gracias mi amigo for inviting me to your celebrated launch and here’s to even more continued success.