MISTERYOSA.COM

Hosted by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism (JVOAEJ), and the preceding Jaime V. Ongpin Journalism Seminar (JVOJS), have been well-attended by established personalities in the field of Journalism. Students and faculty members from the University of the Philippines, Far Eastern University, University of the East, and other reputable universities in Metro Manila have also participated in the program.

As a Journalism student with absolutely no Journalism background whatsoever, the JVOJS has proven itself to be helpful. I’ve had lots of questions running through my mind which have been answered by the panel of finalists in the JVOAEJ. One, though, has been bugging me mostly. As people whose chosen profession requires them to be as objective as they can, how do they manage to detach themselves from their emotions?

One finalist in the Investigative Category, Ms. Dabet Castañeda of Bulatlat.com, has written a piece entitled “For Land and Wages: Half a century of peasant struggle at Hacienda Luisita.” I myself have personally met and lived with the workers of the Cojuangco-owned land during the Basic Mass Integration of League of Filipino Students and Tanghalang Bayan ng Kabataan sa Baguio, the progressive theater organization I belong to during my stay in UP Baguio. I admit that the days with them have been full of frustration and helplessness. How do journalists like Ms. Castañeda check their emotions in place when it comes to the cruelty of the society? Don’t they get frustrated whenever they want to show the country how “bulok” a system is, but get ignored because Filipinos tend to make themselves blind to what’s really happening around them? I know I’ve run into some hard time keeping myself from breaking apart. It’s been a hard experience for me to witness cruelty. Writing an unbiased piece about the experience is way beyond my league. I wish I can do the same as what Ms. Castañeda has done.

No one can deny that equality does not, and will never, exist. It strikes me that we Filipinos tend to get angry with foreigners abusing our fellow Filipinos, especially overseas. But the question is, have we ever paid attention to the current state of the country when it comes to abuse? Filipinos abuse Filipinos. It’s sick, but it’s real.

The ironic situation reminds me of one news bit I’ve seen the morning before I went to Makati. An internet shop owner has been stabbed to death by his brother-in-law because the suspect was “humiliated” by the victim. The crime has been caught on the surveillance camera installed inside the shop. I can watch gory movies with lots of blood and flesh exposed, even while eating. But that footage, it’s a true-to-life crime. It’s not a movie anymore. There’s no more unbelievably horrible than reality.

Honestly, that has made me think twice about pursuing Journalism. Watching the distraught faces and feeling the agony of people involved in a crime is really not my cup of tea. And one of the hardest parts is that because I am opinionated at times, giving an objective review of what’s happening is almost as easy as not breathing. Although I love writing, I want to be able to write what I want to write.

But the mind of this angsty teen has changed during the second half of the program: the awards. It makes me feel pretty proud to be called a Journalism student, surrounded with people who have laid their lives on the line just to get a good and substantial story for the masses to be aware citizens of the country. I’ve realized that no matter how a person tries to downsize the media profession, the line of interest I’ve chosen to pursue is noble. Being a journalist almost limits a person of becoming a feeling human being, but the truth is what the society needs, not a biased presentation of events. Clichéd as it may sound, there are always at least two sides of a story. And the job of the journalist is to present these sides until the real truth comes out, amidst the pressure they have to endure and deadlines they have to beat. If being a journalist will make me make a difference to the society, then so be it.