ThinKaMuna: An alliance of truth seekers

A few weeks ago, a video of myself began circulating on Facebook. It looked like me, spoke like me – and, as long as they “invest,” promised people money. So it couldn’t be me – because I have no money for just anyone and everyone. When I saw that video, I immediately called TV5 and suggested: “You must organize a conference – on media and information literacy.”

This was how MILCON was conceived.

Seriously, that’s fake news. I have to give credit to all the entities – and people – who organized this consequential and timely conference: thank you to our partners in UNESCO, which leads the global mandate on information access and critical thinking – both of which are needed by a multilingual and intensely social media society as ours. My thanks also go to MediaQuest, TV5 and One News – especially.

That fake video reminded me how easily we can weaponize technology to take advantage of people. Or to use technology to compensate for all the frailties that make us human.

That is why today’s gathering is so critical. We ask: how can we better tell what is real from what is false? And how can our institutions function in an environment where our perception of truth is doubted, or debated, every single day?

The importance of truth

So the first question must be – how does one know the truth?

It is easy enough to refuse the obvious untruths – the claim that the ocean is green, or that Globe has the best network. Joke only. But deception these days rarely wears its mask so plainly.

My Philosophy professor at the Ateneo, Fr. Roque Ferriols SJ, gave our class an example of how truth can be difficult to define. Say you’re driving on one of our ghost provincial roads on a hot, sunny day. And you see ahead of you a pool of shimmering water. The water does not really exist – but the experience of seeing it is as such real.

That story describes our contemporary condition. We are surrounded by illusions that appeal not to reason, but to desire. We see what we want to see – and often, what we most desire is what betrays us. Think of those emails from a “Nigerian prince” promising riches; the text message that says you’ve won a raffle you never joined or the scantily clad woman who says she’s looking for a successful older man.

ThinKaMuna

The MVP Group is built on businesses that connect Filipinos – with electricity, with clean water, roads and, most certainly, communication – together with the relevant infrastructure precisely to facilitate these connections.

But what good is infrastructure, if the information and data traveling across them are dirty, doubtful or simply untrue? When the very digital air we breathe is poisoned with disinformation and untruths?

Our response to this is simple: ThinKaMuna Pilipinas.

Through ThinKaMuna, we call on our people to think before they click, to question before they share – to ask not only about the content they encounter, but also their own biases. Is this true, or do I just wish it to be true?

And I’d like to emphasize: When we say “ThinKaMuna,” we’re not just encouraging people to think. More important than that, we’re asking them to stop for a while, hesitate and doubt. As the great philosopher Rene Descartes once said: I think muna, therefore I am.

Role of media

Of course, no one organization can guard or determine what the truth is. Once, our duty was to check our own facts and present the news, as we see them. Now, we find ourselves checking the facts of others – vloggers, provocateurs, rage baiters – correcting falsehoods to no end. Those in media may sometimes feel like Sisyphus – or his more contemporary incarnation – our very able and active Secretary Vince Dizon.

On the other side of the communication process, our duty is to decide whom exactly we can trust. This is the greatest argument why we need professional, reliable, credible independent journalists and news organizations. Not to offer something perfect, or never get it wrong – but something whose mission it is to try to do it right, and to be accountable when sometimes they’re not.

The BBC and Financial Times rank up there in credibility. But why does it feel safe to believe them? Apart from their long history of veritas, truth for them is a practice. It is not found – it is earned. If we pursue truth consistently, with care and with excellence, we build trust for ourselves, and confidence amongst people.

Multisectoral effort

ThinKaMuna’s mission therefore is to safeguard the truth. But truth is too immense, too vital, to be contained within the walls of any single organization. This requires a unified, national mobilization and movement.

First, we need the government to champion M.I.L. as a core policy initiative, integrating it into national security, education and technology strategies.

Second, we need the business sector, not just media companies, but all companies – to integrate M.I.L. into their corporate social responsibility frameworks. Invest in training, invest in tools and create workplaces where employees are trained to man the ramparts of truth and protect them from what’s false and fake – to read beyond the headlines, to check before they forward.

The strength of our democracy, the stability of our economy and the future prosperity of our nation hinges on the integrity of our information space. Because when truth falters from attacks, confidence wavers. And when confidence collapses, eventually, so does the economy.

And third, we must address the demand side, not just the supply side of information.

The academe must shape students who can question bravely and conclude carefully – and tell our people that freedom of expression carries the obligation to think clearly and critically.

To conclude – we often speak of nation-building in terms of bridges, towers, fiber and power plants. But the truest foundation of a democracy is not concrete or iron. It is truth.

A people misled cannot move forward. But a people informed cannot be defeated.

Thus, my hope is that we all leave this hall resolved. Maraming bumabaluktot sa katotohanan – pero mas madami tayo. Let us not grow weary of the work of discernment. And in the Lord’s words, let us go forth and multiply – let us invite more Filipinos into this alliance of truth seekers.

We shall not yield this space to falsehood. We shall not let noise drown out reason. We shall not let lies become the language of our nation. We shall teach each other; we will learn from one another and we will prevail.

So again: ThinKaMuna. Stop. Think first. Speak true. That is how we build our new future.

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Excerpt of remarks delivered by MediaQuest chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan at the Philippine Media and Information Literacy Conference 2025 with the theme, “Truth Under Fire: Empowering Critical Thinking in the Age of A/I” on Nov. 4 at SMX Aura.