Butch Bagabuyo “The men with the muckrake are often indispensable to the well-being of society but only if they know when to stop raking the muck.”– President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) THE reason why I’m convinced the press is the muckraker is because I remember vividly in my grade school days when my Tatay would pick up his rake and spread on the ground the muck of his cattle, horses and pigs. He taught me then that the muck, when raked, are good fertilizers. But left alone on the ground, it would attract the flies and the sickness that go with it. It is because of this belief that I have always been in favor of the press and have consistently rendered pro bono legal services to the members of the press brought before the bar of justice. And precisely because of the dangers of muckraking, Clement Attlee (1883-1967), British labor politician, Prime Minister, in his time, said: “Generally speaking, the press lives on disaster.” The other day, this paper carried on front page the story of a radio “block-timer” (the term used to describe a person who buys the time of a broadcast industry to sell whatever that is not prohibited by law) was blacklisted by the local Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas (KBP). Unless I’m wrong, this KBP was founded on the concept of “cleansing” the press at the height of the infamous dictatorship in our country. Undoubtedly, cleansing connotes something good. Sadly, however, the problem with the use of the term “cleansing” is that it could easily mean wiping out opposition. It could even mean selective justice, if you ask those opposed to the national leadership of “Daang matuwid.” To the opposition, it is dalan nga natuwad. And I agree with Arnlold Bennet, the British novelist, who said: “The price of justice is eternal publicity.” Candidly, I thought all along that with the restoration of democracy in our country through People Power, organizations such as the KBP, a group of broadcasters, was long buried with the unlamented Martial Law. With due respect to the officers and members of the organization, I humbly find its existence highly suspect, taking into account the freedom of the press, speech and assembly under Section 4, Article III (the Bill of Rights) of our 1987 Constitution. As I have written in the past and repeating the same, undoubtedly, the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos ably assisted by his beautiful wife, Imelda, used both money and power so cleverly that they were able to rule our poor native land by buying tri-media and its opinion makers. Enough of the Martial Law praise releases and trimmings. Let there be free discussion of whatever under the sun. We have more than enough laws, civil, criminal and even administrative, to punish the wrongdoers. But at the moment, the most that we can do is to pray to that the true and real owners of the press in our country adopt and practice this truism: “The men, women and the LGBT, with the muckrakers, are indispensable to the well-being of society. And fear not even if they do not know when to stop raking the muck.” Here is my take: Under our Revised Penal Code, as amended, Title 13 on Crimes against Honor, the law on libel, Articles 353 up to 357, then Articles 360-362, Articles 363 (incriminating innocent person), and Article 364 (intriguing against honor) are laws that should have been repealed and/or amended as far as government men, women and LGBTs are concerned. I have always been of the belief that these laws (laws on libel and defamation) were enacted to weaken if not, deprive the sovereign of the power to charge and prosecute corrupt government officials. And if we try to analyze convictions on these cases, the moneyed and highanking government officials get what they want to the prejudice of the well-being of society and good governance. The reason why these archaic and oppressive provisions of laws remain in our statutes is because our Congress––meaning, both the representatives and senators––are the prime violators of our laws against graft and corruption (RA 3019) and crimes committed by public officers (Art. 203 all the way up to Article 244 – unlawful appointments of the Revised Penal Code). It is high time to “Cha-cha” from presidential to federal-parliamentary. That way, we will have independent states under a federal state Tsada, di ba?
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“Prayer must never be answered: if it is, it ceases to be prayer and becomes correspondence.” –Oscar Wilde [1854-1900] As an outsider looking in, I dare say that the latest blacklisting by the local chapter of the KBP is an ominous sign that in the coming local elections, the usual mudslinging by and between blocktimers will turn for the worst. And to me, this is sad not because of the mudslinging. Since in our country and in the city, graft and corruption is rampant, I dare say: mud-throwing is a necessity. Otherwise, the culture of impunity will be imbedded in governance. It has to stop and the only way to do it is to let the public know of what their public officials are doing. After all, my Maling used to tell me that “Walay aso nga makumkom.” So, let it out for all to see, hear and judge for themselves. Ever since childhood, the favorite pastime of voters in our country and city is undoubtedly muckrakings which is akin to good governance. And it has been so for so long a time that the term “muckaking” by President Roosevelt of the US still rings loud and clear. The only danger according to that good president is when they do not know when to stop raking the muck. But I dare say that the only danger is that money and power at the hands of the corrupt would silence them, all in the name of “cleansing” the press. And the worst is when, God forbid, heinous mercenaries, usually riding-in-tandem, silence the muckrakers in broad daylight. I can only pray that the respected owners and icons for press freedom in our city will not be swayed to do away with muckraking in the name of “cleansing” the press in our city. In the immortal words of press freedom fighters, which I have adopted and practiced, “I would rather have no government than have no press freedom at all.” And in the words of Dale Carnegie, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but not words.” Veritas Liberative Vos. Truth will set you free.