Ethics of the pressed

“THE PAYOFFS, in the guise of ‘advertising expenses,’ included prominent broadcast journalists.”

Thus, the Philippine Daily Inquirer headlined Wednesday, March 19, promptly naming TV5 news anchor Erwin Tulfo and dzBB talk show host Carmelo del Prado Magdurulang, as “allegedly among the beneficiaries of the diversion of congressional allocations from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) coursed through state-owned National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor) and subsequently to ghost projects of bogus foundations, according to checks and accompanying documents made available to the Inquirer.”

The checks – numbers, amount and banks drawn from – allegedly issued to Tulfo and Magdurulang were cited in the Inquirer report.

Even as both journalists denied the accusations – Tulfo even threatening to file a libel case against the Inquirer – their respective networks have said they will undertake their own investigations.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has gone even further, raising the issue to the higher ground of ethics and professionalism.

We fully subscribe and submit ourselves to the NUJP aspiration as expressed in its statement of March 20, 2014 signed by Chair Rowena C. Paraan, to wit:

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines is concerned about the allegations of corruption in media raised by an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on how pork barrel funds were supposedly funnelled off through the National Agribusiness Corp.

We will withhold comment on the specific allegations to allow those accused the opportunity to present their side as well as for the Inquirer to present more definitive evidence to back up the allegations raised.

Nevertheless, we acknowledge that probably the most common criticism against the Philippine media has always had to do with the perceived lack of ethics and professionalism among journalists.

In fact, some quarters have gone so far as to cite these shortcomings to explain, if not justify, why media killings persist, as if corruption deserved a death sentence.

Nevertheless, it is perhaps time that the issue of ethics and professionalism – or the lack thereof – in the Philippine media is discussed openly and honestly, and, more importantly, addressed decisively. 

However, we hope that any discussion of ethics and professionalism shall encompass all aspects of the media industry as a whole and not be limited only to weeding out individual offenders.

After all, for all its virtues and faults, the Philippine media is a reflection of the society from which it springs and which it claims to serve.

Thus, any examination of ethics and professionalism should take into account as well the ownership and management patterns that exist in the media and how these, more often than not, play a major role in why journalists – from beat reporters to editors – fall astray. This is as true in Metro Manila, where practitioners earn substantially more, as in the provinces, where many journalists toil under difficult working conditions for wages below even the legal minimum.

We also fervently hope that the discourse on ethics does not descend into a mindless witch-hunt or be exploited by the enemies of a free and independent press to tarnish a profession that, for all its blemishes, still remains one of the Filipino citizens’ strongest defenses against those who habitually abuse their powers and privileges.

Indeed, as Jefferson wrote: “To the press alone, checquered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression.”