"They made the Philippine press what it is today."
"They made the Philippine press what it is today."
I would like to pay tribute to members of media, past and present, who have all contributed and fought for press freedom. They have made Philippine press what it is today—free and vibrant.
First and foremost—the late Manila Times publisher Joaquin “Chino” Roces. He was relentless in his fight for press freedom during the Marcos dictatorship.
There was also the late Nap Rama, who was a staff writer of the old Free Press and former publisher of Manila Bulletin.
There was Max Soliven, former publisher and columnist of the Philippine Star.
My colleague at the Philippines Herald, Nestor Mata, was the lone survivor of the plane crash that killed President Ramon Magsaysay.
The others are Jake Macasaet, publisher and columnist of Malaya; his executive editor Pocholo Romualdez; Chitang Guerrero Nakpil, writer and historian; Adrian Cristobal, journalist, wordsmith and book author; Blas Ople, another wordsmith and former Labor and Foreign Affairs secretary; and Teddy Benigno, bureau chief of the Agence France Presse, columnist of the Philippine Star, and founder and president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of the Philippines.
Among those still fighting for press freedom are Jullie Yap Daza, former editor-in-chief of Manila Standard and now associate editor of Manila Bulletin; Jun Icban, editor-in-chief of Manila Bulletin and president of Samahang Plaridel; Tony Lopez, publisher of BizNewsAsia and chairman of the Manila Overseas Press Club, and Rollie Estabillo, Manila Standard publisher who was once editor of Economic Monitor and now president of the Philippine Press Institute, an organization of all publishers.
I must also count Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddyboy Locsin.
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President Duterte should listen to his security advisers not only because of the influx of Chinese but also because of the latest Chinese investments in three strategic islands.
With the continued “escort service” of Chinese illegally entering the country, occupying entire floors and houses in gated villages, Filipinos should really be worried.
The President should task his economic managers, together with the Defense and Local Government departments, to look into this phenomenon. Our economic managers should be more circumspect in allowing investments from China through what is called the Belt and Road Initiative.
Santa Banana, with the jihadists and the IS-inspired terror groups now becoming active again in Mindanao, we cannot afford more security risks.
The President must really be circumspect about investments from China.
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I have been asked many times: Why has President Duterte been getting excellent ratings despite the criticism being hurled against him? Are Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations being paid by anyone?
I can only think of one answer: Most of Duterte’s issuances resonate with the people.
Take for instance his bloody war on illegal drugs. I personally think he is doing it the wrong way, but his unrelenting efforts are being appreciated by many Filipinos.
The war against corruption is another plus. He has fired even his allies. I believe, however, that corruption will not be eliminated so long as there is human intervention and discretion in government transactions.
This President listens to the people. Look at what happened after he initially banned lotto operations.
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The many floods and landslides happening now, and the fact that Batanes just experienced an earthquake, and people are awaiting the government’s assistance, all point to the need for a Department of Disaster Resilience.
The House of Representatives enacted a bill creating such a department. And now Tingog Party-list of Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez has refiled it.
While we have the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, it is only an ad hoc body. We need something permanent.
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Before President Duterte came to power, San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang had planned to build the new international gateway. Ang had this plan when he was president of Philippine Airlines and Lucio Tan was still chairman.
Ang’s plan would cost San Miguel more than P500 billion. It involved a megacity of some kind in Bulacan. It would employ a million people.
Had the government listened to Ang that time, we would now be reaping the benefits of having a world-class airport.
In any case, San Miguel is still building that airport on a 2,500-hectare flatland. It’s something to be proud of.
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