Tingog.com

Days after the abduction of Ces Drilon her crew and a professor, the mood of those in the media is that of solidarity. The news blackout could have been achieved if not for the meddling of the government itself, but news such as this could not have been bottled up for any longer stretch of time as it did.

Thus the debate, because of the blackout, has taken a turn for a more multi-faceted view of the situation, rather than solely the abduction itself. It is revolving now, on terrorism, military policy, media policy, government policy, whether ransom payment should be made, as well as the kidnapping itself.

If Ces Drilon wanted to be the spark that ignited such thought-provoking series of debates, then she has achieved such a goal. But if her goal was to get an inside scoop on the Abbu Sayyaf organization, then that goal may have to be delayed until her hopeful release, if at all.

The achieved end has been debates on the treatment of all kidnappings, not just that of prominent personalities, but for all kidnappings. Because, as has been pointed out, we rarely see such a degree of patience and empathy, especially in cases where the scoops are too alluring to pass up, or in cases where the individuals involved are ordinary Filipinos, who, are of “less worth”. As such, journalists, especially in the area of television, are seen to enjoy a privilege equal to those of celebrities and the politicians of our land.

But as The Inquirer Editorial pointed out the other day, this news blackout that was requested by ABS-CBN, may have just set a new precedence with regards to kidnappings. Until all parties, including the company and/or families, in coordination with the authorities, have been asked permission, then a blackout should be respected, at least for the first 24 or 48 hours.

However, if the past is any indicator, then such a precedence will not be met. But if we are to only go by the past couple of days, then that precedence should have been solidified.

I’m weary about this though, even as many may see this as a new precedence, I think the only real entity that will have to abide by this, is ABS-CBN since they were the ones to make such a demand. In the future, how can we be sure, that such patience, especially in kidnappings, will be accorded the victims, when those who are breaking the story is not ABS-CBN.

They can simply say, that they only adhered to ABS-CBN’s embargo, and that they themselves did not fully agree with it. When the victims are once again, the “insignificant”, those who are not journalists, can we really expect the entire news media in The Philippines to abide by such an embargo?

But consider for a moment, that indeed, this issue has set a new precedent in terms of embargos and kidnappings, the only matter that is worth attending to now is what to do with government controlled media channels, who are not under the obligation of journalistic standards and solidarity, but who uphold a mandate that emanates from Malacañang? That is a matter that is worth considering, because as this case has shown, it was the government that blew the cover, and ended the embargo.

In any case, the debate continues, the kidnapped are still not free, and we are still left pondering the scenarios with which events could unfold. One individual has been set free, negotiations still continue. The kidnapped are still not out of the woods.

One question, that I would like answered, will eventually have to be answered by Ces Drilon herself. What does she think about the embargo?