‘Demo-crazy’

Ben Contreras

IT’S funny how media cry for freedom of speech and yet when their opinion differs, they would have the temerity to tell others to stop writing.

It is funny how some can easily accuse others of this and that without verification and investigation and when one is falsely accused, the accuser has totally no remorse at all as if it is their inherent right.

Media are supposed to be the watchdogs of in our society. But the watchdogs themselves failed, deliberately or not, to watch their own ranks, and you hear and read them everyday.

While some are allowed to criticize, some are also allowed to defend. So it depends on the subject and the person based on leanings and relations. You are told not to entertain trolls but not the use of pseudonyms, and taking sides becomes inevitable.

Some love to rant all day against their targets, and would rant further when they themselves become the targets. Some love to distort your opinion and ideas to protect the subject. You are taught not to attack your colleagues but when one is attacked, nobody talks on his/her behalf.

Some cry and sometimes demand for the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill as if it is everything in their profession. But when one says he’s do it by way of an executive order, they would never show appreciation, and see only the negative sides.

But all these are about media in the city. Or is it? Is it democracy or demo-crazy?

Do we have a media Code of Ethics here? Yes, we do. But because it’s about democracy, anyone can adhere to it or ignore it, depending again on which side of the coin one is.

How does one become safe from attacks from colleagues? Answer: be one among them. Them who? That’s the 64 dollar question.

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Two Portuguese love birds I met in Oslob were not only fascinated by the whale sharks but also by their discovery of how ordinary Pinoy, in reference to fisherfolks, can communicate in English. We are not called the brown Americans for nothing, I joked.

When their breakfast was served, I could only admire in silence the food they ordered. Unlike ours with just coffee and Tocilog, theirs were heavy in meat. Of course, tourists are normally friendly. One just cannot afford to be not friendly in a foreign country.

Oslob became known for the whale shark or Butanding in the local lingo. From one whale shark decades ago, local authorities have so far recorded more than 200 to have come to mingle with humans. They are recorded according to the pattern of the spots in their body, their size, the wounds that appear on its body, etc.

To foreigners who are willing to pay the price, the income generated is a boon to the locality and its people. But to local tourists, it’s quite steep for our standard. But like I told my children, we came to enjoy. Forget the expenses.

The Kawasan Falls has also come a long way since it was first discovered. It used to be a trek not for seniors but now manageable due to the road improvement. Unlike my experience in Pagsanjan Falls, the people (tourist facilitators) there are more courteous and honest. It’s this type of people that deserve good tip from kind people.

It was our first family vacation and how it ended so soon. But they had a good time.