Managing media and Palace relations

I do not see anything wrong with the criticisms made by President GMA against media in the recent conference of the KBP in Baguio City. I thought she was just doing her job as head of state -making suggestions on how media and government can cooperate for the national good. I consider her statement on media as part of normal governance.

So long as the as the conflict between the press and government were restricted to suggestions, and does not lead to force, there is no cause for alarm. The real problem starts when government starts closing down media, as was the case during martial law, or start initiating charges against newsmen. I do not see that situation coming in the term of President GMA, or even in the watch of the combative DOJ Secretary.

There is really nothing new in the President's expression on the role of media. Any head of state would want to tame the press, or at least, have the press carry his or her message. In this age of communication where the battle for perception is uppermost, any leader would like to have this vital sector on his side.

In conferences among media practitioners in ASEAN, other countries pay tribute to Philippine media as being independent and democratic. With then possible exception of Thailand perhaps, most of the countries in the region are controlled. But we should also accept that, here in the Philippines, some sectors in media that are being used for misguided purposes. And perhaps, this is a matter for our own-self correction and soul-searching. I do not want to go into specifics, but we can say in general that there are sectors in media that are being used by the oligarchy for its purposes.

I do not share the president's view that the media has a "bad boy" image. I do not know where the president got that idea that we have that image. For all its shortcomings, our media is still one of the most vibrant in the region, and probably in the world. But I agree that we have to be guided by ethics of responsible journalism. US in complete control of rape case

The latest reports on the rape of a 22-year-old woman by five, probably six, US servicemen in Subic on November 1, is going the usual way. By "usual", we mean that the United States government has assumed complete control of the whole process -especially the investigation stage.

For instance, the driver of the van who allegedly carried the US servicemen and the victim is now saying that he did not see the rape happen inside that van. He also denied to Vice President Noli de Castro, who interviewed him last Saturday, that there was no gangrape involved. And finally, to suggest that his initial testimony was made under duress, he told the VP that he was punched by a Filipino investigator to make a statement against the Americans. Apparently, the Filipino driver has been persuaded by some people to change his initial testimony, or to put the whole thing under a cloud of doubt.

All these are being prepared to free the Americans at the investigation stage. The Americans will show that there is no prima facie evidence to the case. And ergo, there is no need to invoke any provision of the Visiting Forces Agreement. In short, the VFA will prove to be useless in resolving the rape case.

If you notice, the Americans are saying that the VFA is a fine document, an excellent legal framework to solve problems between the two armies. They can say this because they know we will never have the chance to use the VFA. Tapos na ang boksing bago natin magamit ang VFA.