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Let us first observe a few moments of silence for the safe return of
our dear Ces Drilon and her cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion, freed from
her captors after a week’s ordeal.
To begin with, these bandits we call “Abu
Sayyaf” for lack of a better term to label them since they employ
similar methods of violence and operate in the same geographical
area. There is no evidence on the ground that it is the same dreaded
ASG that until this incident has largely been neutralized,
marginalized and almost banished from our national media, hence, our
consciousness.
Ces is one of our best reporters in the land,
known for her independent stance, well-researched production and
high standard of integrity. For her to fall into a trap on her way
to interview an alleged ASG leader is a disaster of several
dimensions.
Her and her staff’s safety was the number one
consideration. Their family and friends must have been nervous
wrecks knowing the reckless decapitation record of her captors.
The bandits, whether ASG or not, swing back into
prominence and grab headlines at the expense of the poor country
with its dismal perception problem. They gain the mileage and
publicity at no cost and even make money out of it.
The “no ransom” policy continues to be a
fluke.Who will take the moral responsibility for the lives of the
kidnapped if killed for not forking over? Call it board or lodging,
negotiate it down to a few million pesos—the reality is stark and
the objective simple—Ces and Jimmy must be rescued alive! Then the
money will be used to acquire more high-powered weapons and more
operations. There are initial reports that more recruits are joining
likes bees to honey.
Ces may have her own personal reasons to trust
her instincts and rely on the word of her interviewee for safe
passage. Now that she is no longer endangered, where lies the
civility and honor of the alleged ASG leader so important in our
culture? Unless he himself allowed the kidnapping, did he intervene
or do something?
Media outfit ABS–CBN supposedly made a
“gentle request” for a news blackout. One cannot read any
breaking developments on its star reporter Ces. It’s the classic
case of the newsseeker becoming the newsmaker. Now media executives
realize the importance of managing the flow of crucial, confidential
information when lives are at stake. Remember the Manila Pen
incident when reporters and journalists refused to heed and actually
defied lawful authorities to leave and even persisted on staying
with the armed group in the name of press freedom? And the
government was taken to task for taking them out of harm’s away.
The government again took the heat for the
capture of Ces and her crew. Though she may have insisted to go and
to state that she will take responsibility and bear the
consequences, we ought to remember that there is such a thing as
media responsibility, there is a higher cause than getting a story,
in this case, personal safety. There is also the recent conviction
of Tribune publisher and journalist Ninez Olivares for libel. It
cannot be writing for writing’s sake or to invoke a version of the
truth regardless.
For Ces and her crew, their lives were on the
line. If anything happened to them, it would have been a great
tragedy that will shake media to its foundations, downgrade the
government’s capacity and resolve to combat banditry and shatter
the country’s image into a million pieces. Let’s say a prayer of
thanks for Ces and Jimmy’s return.
mabinihall@gmail.com
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