COUNCILOR Tomas Monteverde IV, in a privilege speech delivered before the city council on Tuesday, slammed the media for what he referred to as media’s “wrong” portrayal of the demolition (of illegal structures) stories in Davao city.
Quoted by Sunstar Davao, Monteverde reacted to the “photos and footage on demolitions show crying sidewalk vendors, questioning social justice.”
“Media coverage of these demolitions never highlight the strict implementation of the law and order, but rather portray the wrong picture that the government is insensitive and callous, evil to the realities and needs of the poor. This provokes emotional public debate,” the Mindanao Daily Mirror also quoted Monteverde as saying.
At the time when more journalists are getting killed, and the media is under siege, we are alarmed to hear a public official like Monteverde, an elected councilor in Davao city’s second district, dictate what should be the “wrong” news or the “right” news for the media to cover.
We would like to ask Councilor Monteverde what makes the photos and footages of “demolitions showing crying sidewalk vendors,” wrong? If the incident really happened, and the photojournalists were not making up those footages, is it wrong to take pictures of vendors crying? And what would make a right photo for Councilor Monteverde?
Monteverde’s statement is very disturbing because it brings us back to that dark period of our history when the media were only allowed to report only one version of truth: the approved official version.
We would like to remind Councilor Monteverde that the media’s first loyalty is to the public, and that the media do not exist only as a mouthpiece for the official version of truth. To allow government officials to dictate upon the media what to report is dangerous, because it tends to stifle critical and independent views that make up for a vibrant and working democracy.
JESSIE CASALDA
NUJP-Davao City Chapter
Chairperson
20