“The strongest political party in the country is ABS-CBNâ€
- Jose Leviste, political strategist
We’ve all seen how Susan Roces poured her rage and sentiment when she was interviewed by ABS-CBN anchor Karen Davila on the wake of her late husband, Fernando Poe, Jr. She accused ABS-CBN of being biased in their reporting of the election campaigns, intentionally panning narrow angled shots of FPJ’s sorties to make it appear that the crowd was small, not giving him enough air time, etcetera.
On January, an ABS-CBN OB VAN was torched by groups that were supposedly supportive of the FPJ camp. During EDSA 3, the perception of ABS-CBN was no different. One of their service pick-up trucks was turned over and looted at Mendiola following the dispersal of those who marched towards Malacañang. ABS-CBN has been perceived so much as pro-GMA that supporters of the opposition have such distrust against the network.
This time around however, it doesn’t seem that way.
Watching TV Patrol World the past few weeks, one would notice that they would always play the infamous “Hello Garci” ringtone. Ted Failon, on his radio program in the morning (which I almost always hear when taking a cab to work), has been incessantly berating the President’s silence and her kakapalan ng mukha this past week. On their very extensive news report on the implementation of the expanded Value Added Tax (eVAT) law tomorrow, TV Patrol World repeatedly described the new tax measure as a form of pagpapahirap.
There are only two reasons that I can think of on why ABS-CBN is doing this. First, with their ratings suddenly below that of GMA 7, they may be trying to take on a stand that is sympathetic with the pro-FPJ masa, arguably the largest bulk of their teleserye-consuming target market. Second, while it might not be explicitly voicing support for the Arroyo Resign movement, ABS-CBN may want it to happen anyway because Arroyo’s inevitable successor is Noli De Castro, its once most popular and most recognizable anchorman, and they may stand to benefit from his Presidency.
Whichever the case is, what Jose Leviste said 2 years ago still holds true. The media isn’t a mere observer and reporter of the events that are unfolding in our country — they are actually shaping and influencing it to their own end. The question is whether the Filipino people would benefit from that influence.
I definitely think not.
6 responses so far ↓
1 juned // Jul 1, 2005 at 1:06 pm
Lopezes before were the kingmakers in post WWII Philippine society. And then they supported Marcos. It would seem now the Lopezes have not yet learned their lesson. Perhaps they are waiting for another Marcos to come.
2 Jon Limjap // Jul 1, 2005 at 1:22 pm
I don’t think they’re waiting for another Marcos. They appear to support whoever is more popular, or is less likely to damage their position in business.
They didn’t support Estrada then because they fear the backlash experienced by Lucio Tan companies (e.g., PNB suffered the greatest with near-bankrun level withdrawals back in 1998). Today the Makati Business Club appears to be more or less divided on the issue, so I guess they can choose the popularity card this time.
3 starvingwriter // Jul 1, 2005 at 8:28 pm
Ay totoo, they so want Noli de Castro to be President, without even thinking of what the hell would happen to our Mahal na Pilipinas when that does happen.
4 juned // Jul 3, 2005 at 11:32 am
Sorry what I meant was since they failed to learn their lesson. There maybe waiting for another Marcos to betray them and seize their assets.
5 Crissy // Jul 3, 2005 at 9:55 pm
Its really sad how media can forget to present the truth to the public. They seem to prefer a selective hearing approach.
6 torn // Jul 4, 2005 at 10:06 pm
Yes, it is true that the media are increasingly active players in the political process (and not just in the Philippines of course). I’m glad you raised this issue; the futire of the country may yet be decided by the way the major networks fall. And yet they are accountable to no one. I’m not in favour of censorship ever, but the powere of, say, Fox in the USA or ABS-CBN here is quite disturbing.
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