BY ROMMEL YNION
LIKE any media outfit, Aksyon Radyo in Iloilo City has played the role of a catalyst, often stepping on other people’s toes, waking them up to the reality of their misdeeds, and calling the attention of its listeners to the issues at hand.
It is, therefore, understandable that it has made a lot of enemies in the course of its journey as purveyors of bad news, especially about the city and its mayor who prides himself as God’s gift to all Ilonggos.
But John Paul Tia, the radio station’s anchorman, can see the truth in spite of the layers of lies blanketing it, especially from the propagandists of city hall that seem to be obsessed only with “beautification” efforts even at the expense of the truth.
Of course, the last thing these modern-day Goebbels want is the exposure of lies that they propagate. And that seems to be why they are overly allergic to muckrakers obsessed with getting to the bottom of things.
Following their leader, John Sapio and Jun Capulot have become crusading broadcast journalists as well, blazing a trail of fearless reporting in spite of efforts from some quarters to silence them, unmindful of everything, including the kitchen sink, thrown their way, not only to scare them but to block their path to the truth.
And the truth that they are courageous enough to expose is that under the hypocritical leadership of the city mayor, Iloilo City is not what it is trying to project to be, especially on the national stage, the real score buried deep under the beautification binge.
The ugly truth is, indeed, ugly enough to propel the city mayor and his ilk to wage a war of attrition against the hapless radio station in an attempt to bully them into becoming yes-men, even going all the way up to the highest echelon of the Manila Broadcasting Corp. to influence their bosses to fire them pronto.
Backroom efforts of the powers-that-be to muzzle them seem to have fallen on deaf ears as Aksyon Radyo still stand by their men in Iloilo City who seem to belong to an endangered species of journalists willing to put everything on the line for the sake of truth and their right to express it.
Ilonggos now consider this radio station as the last man standing in the face of evil, unwavering in its stand against the powers-that-be that protect it, unperturbed by all forms of harassment inflicted upon it by those who are only obsessed with perpetuating their misdeeds.
The city hall’s attack on Aksyon Radyo is symptomatic of its attitude towards the rest of the media in Iloilo City. Not only does it consider its critics in the journalistic firmament modern-day barbarians but even persona non grata meant to be silenced forever.
As pointed out in this corner ad infinitum, organization only reflects the personality of its leader. And considering the approach of city hall towards the media, it simply means that the city mayor is afraid of the truth about his administration and himself. Whatever is it that scares the bejesus out of him is still a matter of conjecture.
What truths are they so obsessed to hide from the prying eyes of crusading journalists? Are these truths damning enough to consign them to oblivion once muckrakers unravel them before the eyes of the world? For if there is nothing underneath the surface that seethes only with nothing but hogwash, then why bother? Let them be if, indeed, there is nothing to be afraid of.
This fear of truth has driven the city mayor to unprecedented efforts to suppress it, ranging from whirlwind of beautification activities to harassment of media. All these have been seen as attempts to keep the people away from reality.
Ilonggos have often been known as a gullible bunch, imbued with the propensity to think that what they see is what is real. Cynicism is still beyond them. Sheltered from the realities of the outside world, they tend to live in their tiny little cocoon, unmindful even of the alarming trend that it is fast degenerating into a cuckoo land.
True enough, if recent surveys indicate how Ilonggos think of the city government’s performance, they, indeed, have been deluded by what they see, seemingly unmindful of the truth beneath the surface. A prima facie proof that city hall spin masters have, to a certain extent, succeeded, ushering in perhaps another evil genius.
But for how long can they hide the truth? Like water, truth eventually seeks its own level, awakening us to reality often when it is too late, when events have overtaken us, and when time is too scarce for us to recover lost ground.
Critical thinking is now an ally that we, Ilonggos, must embrace. And we are fortunate we still have the likes of Aksyon Radyo to help us think sensibly to separate the grain from the chaff, truth from half-truths and downright lies, and horse shit from vanilla ice cream.
Sad to say, our last bastion of truth is now under attack. Are we just going to allow it to be crushed by the powers-that-be that thrive more in the darkness of lies than in the light of truth?
At the end of the day, it is really up to us to either stand by media that fights for truth or to just watch it wither and die before us./PN
