Don't Turn a Blind Eye

DON'T TURN A BLIND EYE
by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
published as editorial of the Fourth Estate, May-June 1998, p. 4

There goes a saying, "Whenever you find hundreds of thousands of sane people trying to get out of a place and a little bunch of madmen trying to get in, you know the latter are newspapermen." That' what journalist are made up of. They are there, everywhere, to be the first to get the news. Exciting as it is, this profession is one of the most dangerous. No wonder only the braves are fit to be in this job. Nowadays that rampant crimes, corruption and grave insult on human dignity exist everywhere; media should be vigilant in addressing these problems as there were many victims of human rights violations and abuses worldwide. Most of these violations were locked away in the dark, as the public doesn't know and care about it.

Fellow writer Mr. Joe Lad Santos clearly understands this point when he wrote in his book "Komedya ng mga Langaw" this poem: "Humihikbi ang mga kalansay sa Sudan. Buti pa sa Sarajevo at Mogadishu, bago mamatay ang mga tao, natetelebisyon muna at nalilitrato, saka ipinapakita sa buong mundo. Pero sa Sudan, hinihintay ay pagdamay. Ang nauunang dumating ay karit ni Kamatayan."

There is a relationship between human rights advocates and the media. Human rights advocates rely mostly on media to focus world attention on abuses and potential remedies. Using the media effectively is a critical skill in the struggle for human rights. The media, most especially those journalists operating in oppressive regimes, such as multi-awarded Associated Press correspondent Peter Arnett, should get the news and get it out. Mostly they are in the battlefront of the people's struggle for human dignity and compassion.

Most of these violations were committed by oppressive regimes such as in Indonesia, South and North Korea, East Timor, to mention a few. In the Philippines, most were committed through militarization. In Middle East countries such as Iraq, the United States have their share of human rights violations. Putting an embargo itself to retain your powerful country in the limelight is a human rights violation.

Human rights advocates and activists, on the other hand, should be accurate and reliable in presenting information that even the smaller amount of report that they can provide is a great help to counter disinformation and lies by those who do not want that their abuses be revealed and publicized. They must take advantage of new information and communication technologies, such as fax machine and internet, to send their messages to world attention.

In countries where people suffer from their oppressive governments, journalists should help report all kinds of human rights abuses, and not to be puppies of oppressive regimes. But in some countries, most of these abuses were not reported. That's why most people who duffer cannot be given enough attention.

Journalists should dig deeper on pressing issues of the times, and the public should help hand-in-hand against human rights abuses and violations. The public itself should not turn a blind eye on reports about these violations, because it is the people's dignity we should care about. We believe that being deaf, mute and blind on what is happening to our society is an attitude of slaves and cowards.

Mightier Than The Sword

MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
published as editorial of the Fourth Estate, February 1998, p. 2

According to British novelist 1st Baron Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton (1803-73), "The pen is mightier than the sword." The pen, which helps us to convey messages to one another, is a simple and handy invention. This is a tool for journalist, for people whose vocation is to inform, to mould opinion, chronicle events, write history and shape the destinies of generations.

The pen is our mighty weapon against all types of repression. This is the tool of those who adhere for the freedom of the press, the weapon in upholding and defending the truth, in defending the right of the people to know, for democracy, for social progress and social justice.

From our ancestor's ancient form of writing to Rizal's Noli and Fili to Marcelo H. Del Pilar's editorials to the hardhitting pen of Danny Hernandez, we can see how powerful the pen is in moulding our destiny, in defending the truth, in fighting for freedom and social justice.

We use our mighty pen to inform, to tell the truth, and not to manipulate other people's belief. But still, we must recognize the fact that the pen is just an instrument. The most important is the people who use this pen. The people, more than anything else, are the most precious thing here on earth, mot money nor profits. Therefore, to uphold and defend the truth, the pen and the principled journalist are twins that should always be together. Together in the battlefield of news reporting, feature writing, sending important messages, and so on. Together in searching and upholding the truth.

The Reporters Without Borders (PWB), a journalist's rights group in France, reported that since 1986, at least six hundred (600) journalists from different parts of the world were killed in the line of duty, most of whom while covering violent conflicts, such as Bosnia. That's how risky the journalism profession is. Here in the Philippines, the Philippine Movement for Press Freedom (PMPF) has recorded 50 journalists killed since the 1986 EDSA revolution. But they did not include in the list those mediapersons killed for reasons unrelated to their profession.

That's how risky our mighty pen is. Although there were many journalists killed in the battlefield worldwide, we will always adhere to our commitment in the noblest profession we know. Upholding the truth and press freedom is our covenant to the people. This is our pledge to the people's right to know. No amount of bullet can stop us in pursuing truth and social justice. Against all odds, we will never surrender. Over our dead body. Yes, our pen will always be mightier than the sword.

In Silencing Our Mighty Pen

IN SILENCING OUR MIGHTY PEN
by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
published as editorial of the Fourth Estate, January 1998, p. 2

Fear. It seems this lonely word was banished from the vocabulary of a crusading journalist. Perhaps most of them realized what writer Mark Twain have written a long time ago: "Courage does not mean the absence of fear but resistance to fear, mastery of fear". If we only look to our history, the glorious pages of Philippine journalism have listed many dedicated newsmen who have given up their lives for the cause of the profession. Look at page 10 of this newsmagazine. There you can see those names who, once upon a time became crusaders against the forces of evil that destroy the peace of our community, have met an untimely demise. is this the fate of those who were courageous enough to expose the evil doings of the "mighty", the "powerful", the mad and the bad in our country?

Many of our comrades-in-profession have been gunned down by an assassin's bullet to silence their mighty pen. They have been killed for exposing the wrongdoings of government officials, capitalists and private citizens. They have fought hard for the preservation of truth at the expense of their own lives and their families.

According to the Philippine Movement for Press Freedom (PMPF), a nationwide alliance of 72 media-based organizations, there are 49 Filipino journalist who have met violent death since the restoration of press freedom in Edsa 1986, and, according to some of our media colleagues, "none of these murders have been given due justice".

Despite so many problems that we encounter, we can still be strong because we believe that our cause of pursuing truth and social justice is a social responsibility that is enshrined in every heart of a crusading journalist. We have our own share of frustrations, problems, sweat, or even blood, and still undergoing hard and grueling labor pains, but these should not, in one way or another, deter us in continuing our dedication to our profession. The new generations of journalists who unite together as the young Writers Assembly of the Philippines (YWAP) face this greater challenge.

We know that as newsmen, we should be at the forefront for telling the truth for the sake of development, social progress and social justice. We know that in silencing our pen, it threatens, not us, but the people's right to know. In the name of the martyrs of the pen who died in defending the flames of truth and justice, we vow to continue the fight. Against all odds.

Who will get the last laugh?

WHO WILL GET THE LAST LAUGH
by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
published as editorial of the Fourth Estate, March-April 1998, p. 2

One prolific columnist in a national daily once said that the Philippines enjoyed three types of seasons: the sunny season, the rainy season and the election season. And it is election time again. Media played a very vital role in this nationwide exercise of the people's right. No questions asked about that. They are the chroniclers of events, writers of our country's history, messengers of information, guardian of public welfare, etc.

The national and local elections are something that the people are preparing. This election also brings another system, the first to happen in our election system, which legislators believe will give a voice to the marginalized sectors of society, such as workers, urban poor, women, youth, indigenous peoples, etc. This is the RA 7941 or the party-list system. As the election draws near, the Comelec still failed in disseminating information on this new law. The party-list system is a new election measure that seeks to ensure that the marginalized sectors can vote for a representative in Congress and have a voice to advance their particular interests. The party-list system is different in the sense that we do not vote for a particular individual or personality, but on organizations or parties whose platforms and programs we support. There are at least one hundred twenty two (122) party-list candidates in the coming election. They will comprise the 20% of the representatives in the Lower House.

Less than a month before the election polls this May, Sanlakas, a multi-sectoral people's organization who pledges to fight for social progress with social justice, conducted a rally in front of the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros to push the Comelec to disseminate efficient and accurate information drive about the incoming election, particularly about the party-list system. The Comelec does not yet inform the public about this new scheme, how it is conducted, who tops its three nominees are, etc. The public should know the ins-and-outs of each party-list candidate which is very important for them to wisely choose who will represent them in Congress. In our estimation, there are less than one individual per a hundred persons who really understand the party-list system.

There is an analogy that goes like this: "How can the carabao take a bath in the river? Can the river go directly to the carabao or is it the carabao who shall go to the river?" In that simple analogy, we can say that if the Comelec failed to disseminate an information campaign regarding the party-list system and they find it hard to fulfill its mission of giving the people enough information about this new scheme, there should be someone who should take the job.

In this case, the media is the best one who can inform the public of this new election law. This is where the media should act. As they play a very important role in the coming election, the media should be vigilant, accurate and fast enough because there is less than a month to give the public an information campaign on the party-list system. That is the media's responsibility to inform the public what is or what will be going on in the coming May 11 national and local polls. That they recognize the people's right to know so that we will have an honest, orderly, peaceful and efficient (HOPE) election. The public should know more about these so that the next leaders of our country shall not put our nation to ruin. But one question needs to be answered: Do the media do its job? Probably.

Although the Comelec failed because of some reasons they only knew, it is our duty as writers to inform the voting population about the party-list system. In the long run, it is the people who will suffer from this negligence of the Comelec, that is, their turtle-type kind of work. Is this a ploy so that the administration's satellite parties, which do not represent the marginalized sector, win, who will get the last laugh? Maybe, the Comelec or the people who want to stay in power. Or perhaps the capitalists, most especially those who have their own media.

Our Ecological Task

OUR ECOLOGICAL TASK
by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
unpublished article for Greenlinks newsfeatures, 1997

I am with the Kamalayan, a revolutionary socialist youth organization, as its Basic Masses Integration (BMI) officer in 1994-95 when my interest in ecology developed. A year before that, I joined the Franciscan missionaries in their integration with the Muslims in Basilan in Mindanao. There I learned how retired Bishop Querejeta and the Basilan Green Movement prepared a funeral march on that fateful Earth Day celebration, April 22. The bishop invited us to join them in that funeral march. Although we did not participate because of our hectic schedule, their activity and their logic behind that event are unaltered in my mind.

It was in January 1995 when I met the organizers of the Environmental Advocacy Students Collective (EASC) and became a pioneer of this organization. I was elected logistics officer of EASC during its first NCR Congress held on October 23-26, 1995 that was attended by student environmental groups from different schools.

On August 21-25, 1995, five days before we turned over our leadership in Kamalayan to a new batch of student leaders, I attended the International Forum on the Environment held at Pangasinan, which was organized by Kalipi (Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas) and the Cosca-Lunsad of De La Salle University (DLSU) in Taft. I represented Kamalayan in that forum.

During the French nuke testing in Mururoa atoll on September 1995, together with students from FEATI University (my alma mater), we joined protest actions against the French nuke testing.

In June 1996, I joined the secretariat of the Greenpeace International in Manila, when the boat MV Greenpeace traveled far from New Zealand and made a campaign stop in Manila before going to China to protest the Chinese nuclear testing. I was in the office of the Earthsavers then when I saw in a manual the address of Greenpeace here in Manila.

On August 21-23, 1996, I attended an environmental seminar held in DENR, PAWB, and Pamitinan Cave. Wawa, Montalban, Rizal which earned me to be a DENRO (Deputized Environment and Natural Resources Officer).

This probably is my passport to be appointed as temporary head of the environmental desk of Sanlakas.

Although there are two activities (the April 22 International Earth Day and the June 5 World Environment Day) that was not pushed through, still the enthusiasm to lead this environmental desk did not vanished.

One of our activities so far is publishing the monthly Greenlinks newsfeatures magazine as well as organizing The Green Scribes (TGS), an alliance of youth environmental journalist within the NCR. We plan that in the next three months, Greenlinks newsfeatures is going national. I invited my friend from Koronadal, South Cotabato, to handle the papers' Mindanao Bureau. The Luzon and the Visayas Bureau are still in progress.

On the other hand, the TFS is planning to have a regional congress in November. We plan to go national next year, probably together with the formation of the Young Writers and Journalists Alliance (YWJA), an alternative alliance of campus journalists. We just hope that we will be stronger enough to meet the challenges of the times.

During the Sanlakas pre-congress on July 5, 1997, a resolution urging its congress to form an eco-desk was passed. Most of the delegates agreed, while some suggest to investigate thoroughly the MMDA, DENR, and other government and NGOs regarding corruption in implementing environmental and ecological guidelines. This resolution is a great leap forward if Sanlakas members will push it through.

Anyway, there are many issues of concern we should address. In the NCR alone, the garbage disposal is a real problem. We did not know if those who handle the garbage management are mature enough to do their job. They cannot even implement a simple solid waste management, although common sense is enough to understand this. Corruption? Even if the people in the area separated the biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, the garbage collectors still mixed them with each other. We need to apply the solid waste management in every barangay, municipality, city, and any other places so that taxes we paid on the government regarding waste disposal will be minimized by at least 50%. Do the people need Sanlakas to lobby this simple mechanics? This is a vital issue of concern, so we should not neglect this.

The government wants to have incinerators in our country as the solution on the emerging garbage problem. But according to our friend from Greenpeace, "All incinerators, no matter how modern or efficient, emit toxic chemicals and substances such as heavy metals. Studies have shown that exposure to these compounds and heavy metals can cause cancer, birth defects and spontaneous abortions. The chemicals can also damage the kidney, liver and reproductive system, and cause behavioral problems among the people." He also said that the opposition against the construction of incinerators in our country is a part of international campaign for a worldwide suspension of constructing incinerators. Greenpeace investigation also showed that most of the foreign companies offering to help solve our power and garbage problems are actually international toxic waste dumpers from developed countries.

Sanlakas dream of a society where peace and social justice will reign. As we struggle for social progress with social justice, we should also look at the future. We should ask each one of us. What will the next generation inherit from us? A toxic environment? A nuclear radiation, such as Chernobyl? An unhealthy ecology, dirty lakes and rivers, pollution, etc.? I'll dare you to take up the challenge. Let's join hands to struggle hard and smart enough in protecting Mother Earth. This is our legacy to generations to come.

Lastly, we hope that you will continuously read and support our environmental magazine - the Greenlinks newsfeatures. Take good care of your family, your health and yourself always. See you next issue. I'll be back.

On Drugs, Pen and Ink

ON DRUGS, PEN, AND INK
by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
The Fourth Estate newspaper,
March-April 1998, page 8, 11-12

When I was young, my mother always told me that cleanliness is next to godliness. She always said, most especially in her sermons, that persons with twisted minds were mostly the cause of crimes in our society. Twisted mind is the effect of dirty surroundings. So she always emphasized that I should always maintain cleanliness in my room, in our activities and at work places.

Most of the time, I do not follow her advice. Pressured by school and family problems, I turned to my peers for support and advices. I cannot remember when I began taking drugs, such as marijuana, shabu and syrup as a form of rebellion, not only to my family, but most especially to myself. I don't want to have feelings of frustrations. For me, it’s better to lose money in chess tourneys and other gambling vices. It’s better to fail in examinations than to feel disappointment. It’s better to crack my brains in mathematical analysis, physics and solving puzzles and case problems than to feel frustrations.

I am not really the quiet type, although some people think I am. But I'm the rebel type in the sense that I don't think I'm like everybody else. I try to be an individual. I thought people want you to be crazy and be miserable, just like them. They don't want heroes. What they want is to see you fall. That's probably why I started taking drugs to rebel for my failure to be what I want to be. That was some years back; when I thought the world is just a happy-go-lucky place.

Today, I feel I became mature than before. Do I? I now realize that frustrations and failures are part of life. Becoming a journalist gave me a better outlook in life. I find direction. As I deliberate my conscience and myself, I realize that I have a direct responsibility to the people I serve. I can use my pen as a form of activism. As a form to struggle for social progress and social justice. As journalists, we have an unwritten contract to give valuable news, information, insights and analysis of certain issues affecting our lives and our community. As journalists, we have the mandate to be the guardians of public welfare and carriers of information. That's how crucial our role is.

Looking back to my mother's advice and relating it to my experiences, I think I had enough. The effect of drugs to my biological metabolism has somehow affected my decisions, my emotions and attitude towards others. It also affected much my relationship with my family, my former girlfriends, my relatives, my friends, and my classmates. It almost destroyed my future. Taking drugs somehow made me realize that its time to renew myself. But I know it’s hard to change. I still feel its chemical contents. I know I'm not alone in this experience. There are many of us. Some were in jail. Others were in death row, while others were now buries six-feet under the ground. Others are still struggling and fighting for a better future, like me. While some are perhaps lucky enough than us.

I have to be true to myself, to my friends, to my family, and to my comrades. This is my biggest challenge: To renew myself for a better tomorrow, for my future, my family and the next generation. I thank some of my friends and comrades for the understanding and support they have given me. That's something I cannot forget.

From a prestigious campus publication to having a media publication as its publisher and editor-in-chief, I struggle hard enough to be a journalist, to be a hardhitting columnist, to be a crusader. This is the time I'm waiting for: to help eradicate or minimize crimes by exposing drug pushers and druglords, and bring them to the halls of justice. I believe I can contribute even a little, not just as a smalltime writer, but as a journalist. I believe that "the pen is always mightier than the sword" inspite of the number of journalists murdered in the international community. Anyway, I do not expect my readers will admire me for my writings. I expect them to hate me for my guts in exposing truth. Putting names in the gallows and becoming a pain in the neck of the corrupt are my stuff. I decided that I will use my pen as a mighty weapon against this menace. I know I'm not alone in this lonely crusade. In this, I commit myself: to help destroy these drug rings.

According to certain news reports, most people who commit crimes were under the influence of drugs. Drug-related cases are rampant, considering that there were certain news items telling us that most of the suspects in murder and rape cases were drug users. The drug business is not just a business of "small entrepreneurs". Organized crime syndicates were behind these ordeals.

To give you some inside information about organized groups, our country became the transshipment point for international drug syndicates, such as Bamboo Gang and the 14K Group. Other organized groups are the Italian Mafia, Chinese Triad, Japanese Yakuza and the Filipino Kuratong Baleleng. It’s very hard to fight organized crime groups like them because of their system of internal security and the development of trustworthy contacts in the government and military bureaucracy, particularly those who are in law enforcement. Others claim that some officers from the military and polis were involved as part of their fund raising for the coming national and local elections. As these criminal organizations flourish, we can expect corruption among government officials to protect their personal interest.

What these organized crime groups want is power and money. What differ them from some law-abiding organizations with the same objective are that the laws and regulations they obey, the ethical and moral standards they use and the procedures they employ are private and secret enough. They devise it themselves, change them according to situations and these were summarily and invisibly administered.

Organized crime is conducted like a business. Profit is its goal. Its means to that end is to destroy the competition. Both the legitimate business (the capitalists) and organized crimes seek freedom from government meddling by giving sums of money to persons in key positions. Some of the key figures in the government and in the military hierarchy were in the payroll of organized crime groups.

Drug lords and members of drug rings were not just mere gangsters who use violence. They were now in a full-scale business with nationwide and international network. Most of them are businessmen and key political figures. So, how can we destroy these crime syndicates if those who ought to protect the citizens were the ones who destroy the future of these people?

The drug problem that confronts our society today requires careful study involving all sectors. It is no longer sufficient that we leave these problems to the law enforcers alone, but we need a holistic approach involving, not only the police or the government, but also the citizens. Each of us must play a vigilant role. This campaign needs extra courage to be committed (not "kumitid", "kumitid ang utak dahil sa drugs").

Hey, you. Yes, you! I need your help. Anyway, think this over. It’s a tough job for tough guys like us. You may help in minimizing this menace. Some maybe courageous enough to fight the system. Some might be silent enough because of fear. But as Mark Twain said, "Courage doesn't mean the absence of fear, but resistance to fear, mastery of fear." If only people and citizens will cooperate and will help solve this menace, our environment will be cleaned from twisted minds. We will achieve what we are longing for: peace of mind. If you want to help, you may give some confidential information on people you might think are drug pushers or those who are involve in the drug trade.

Crusading journalists like us have an unwritten principle that people who gave valuable information to us with utmost confidence should be protected. No wonder many of our comrades-in-profession were killed because of this principle. We are ready to be killed than to tell them our confidential sources of information.

Don't be convinced that I'll be kind and friendly enough in my writings. But as I have said, I may become a pain in their neck. As of now, I'm working hard enough and practicing journalism religiously hoping that someday, I will be having my own hardhitting column in a national daily. If this happens, I am proud to challenge these criminals, "People, not profit and drugs!" "Stop your criminal activities. Or else..."

Justice to the people who became victims of illegal drugs! Justice to all who died because of drugs! No mercy to all drug pushers! No mercy to all capitalists’ druglords!

When I was young, my mother always told me that cleanliness is next to godliness. She always said, most especially in her never-ending sermons, that rampant crimes which occurred in our society were resulted from twisted minds. And twisted mind is the effect of dirty surroundings. She's right. We should clean our environment from polluted and twisted minds. We should be vigilant, radical and militant in our crusade against illegal drugs.

Yes, there's hope. Let's help each other now. Or else, you or your dear ones might be the next victim. Don't wait. Act now.