BY ROMMEL YNION
AT The Bellevue Hotel in Alabang, Muntinlupa, Danny Fajardo, publisher of Panay News – which, by the way, happens to be the most dynamic regional newspaper on this side of the archipelago – recently brought up the idea of my writing a thrice-weekly column in this newspaper. Call it whatever you will – Eureka, coincidence, or just plain and simple, inspiration – but it jolted me out of my stupor and put me on a journey that begins today.
My subconscious mind often plays tricks on me, flashing especially in moments of inspiration thoughts that I have deposited in it through the years, one of which is my self-starter: Do it now! To which, by force of habit, I respond with ruthless and relentless action. And, in response to Fajardo’s go-signal for me to write a column starting today – Monday, June 2, 2014 – I immediately started churning out words for this column that, I know, will see print as scheduled.
Hackneyed as it may seem, this still rings true today: A drop of ink makes millions think. That is why I will never buy the idea that newspapers – as we know them today—face nothing but extinction in the foreseeable future, that the electronic firmament, called the Internet, will hijack print journalism and reduce it to just a mere click of the mouse. For people will always long for that familiar scent of ink that transports them into a world of thoughts, ideas, and inspiration.
Ah, that, in a nutshell, is the power that resides at the tip of a writer’s pen: The power of words. And as Spiderman (The character that Manny Pacquiao also loves to quote) said: With power comes great responsibility.
No doubt, every opinion writer bears (often on his economically frail shoulders) a tremendous responsibility to his readers when he writes– for the words that he deploys to the arena of public opinion have the power to build or destroy; to encourage or discourage; to inflate or deflate (especially in the case of political egos); to mobilize or paralyze any form of progress into the future.
As a newly-minted columnist of Panay News, I have accepted that responsibility, knowing full well that truth shall always prevail. And yes, if there is a commodity that is always scarce, that is truth. For, in this day and age, spin doctors have ruled print and broadcast media, journalists just at their beck and call – like puppets moving in accordance with the dictates of the puppeteer. Yes, that is the unvarnished truth.
Take, for example, the Napoles issue. After spiriting away, at least, P10 billion out of our government, Napoles has now become the apparition of Joan of Arc, poised to save the entire Filipino nation from eternal damnation. What a lollapalooza of twisted situation! If the ringleader in the den of thieves becomes our savior, then may God have mercy on us all. All over this mosaic of issues are fingerprints of spin doctors massaging the issues to favor the Mother Goose that lays the golden eggs.
Tragic as it really is, we still have a monumental task before us: To embrace truth and turn it in a tool to free us all from the lies that have gripped this nation. As a battle-scarred media practitioner, I will do just that– to contribute in my own little way to aid you, my dear readers, in separating the grain from the chaff, the truths from half-truths and downright falsehoods, the facts from fiction.
And this ideal to which we have committed this column will characterize this journey that has just begun, a journey that will begin thrice-weekly – yes, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – and only end when hell freezes over. With the unconditional backing of Panay News, this journey will definitely be worth our while. Just trust me./PN
