On our first day of session after the Christmas break, I would like to talk about one of my Christmas presents. It is a little book entitled News for Sale, The Corruption of the Philippine Media by Chay Florentino Hofileña, a journalist. It was published last year by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility under Executive Director Melinda Quintos de Jesus, and by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism under Executive Director Sheila Coronel.The book speaks for itself. Hence, my speech will take the form of excerpts which I have organized as follows:
Election Season:
1992 and 1995“In the last leg of the 1992 presidential campaign, Lakas-NUCD media operatives instructed reporters covering the Ramos campaign to drop by one of the rooms of the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City. The hotel housed the party’s war room, the special operations center from which a small, specialized group believed to be the campaign’s dirty tricks department, did its work.
“Malaya columnist Ellen Tordesillas, who covered the campaign, recalled that in the hotel room she was handed an envelope containing crisp P50 bills. She counted P4,000 and was unsure about how to react: whether to tell off the person who handed the envelope or accept the money for the time being.
“Tordesillas said she later returned the money to the party’s media bureau, only to find out that according to their records, she was supposed to have received all the other envelopes the media handlers had given out in the past three months of the campaign.
“Building on the practices of the previous years, corruption took on renewed boldness in the election years 1992 and 1995, with media handlers persistently trying to seduce the powerful press at all levels with sums bigger and better concealed than ever before.
Shepherds and Stables“A former adviser to Ramos revealed in an interview that during the 1992 presidential campaign, he was tasked with looking after an assigned stable of 23 journalists who included reporters and editors alike. Every article, column, or feature story they wrote was rewarded with P5,000 or as much as P50,000, the adviser said, depending on the writer’s status. On occasion, he took them out and took care of everything -- the money for these indulgences provided by a prominent business family supportive of Ramos.
Non-Traceable Transactions
Through Automated Teller
Machines“One media handler who was involved in the 1995 elections and who dealt directly with reporters said in an interview that the ATM payoffs started as early as 1994. The party she worked with cultivated an editor, columnist, and beat reporter from every newspaper open to such arrangements. In 1994, she was given a monthly budget of P500,000 for the 10 people she had on her list. The amount was deposited into their bank accounts through ATM payments made by the campaign staff.
“A senior media handler, she said, took care of identifying who among journalists were to receive the monthly retainers from the party. Depending on their seniority and positions, the journalists were paid from P10,000 to as much as P50,000 a month, she said. Ever careful about being traced, some of the journalists gave bank accounts that bore the names of their wives or children.
Rising Costs and Special Operations“In 1995, the year of the congressional and local elections, the money that the party gave to the media handler quadrupled from P500,000 to P2 million.
“‘Special operations,’ even if they were ‘one-time deals’ were expensive, she explained. These involved the guaranteed publication of high-impact, black-propaganda, mainly expose type of stories that carried a persuasive price tag of P100,000 each. The money was delivered to the writer or editor along with pictures and damaging story.
Point Men
“A former journalist who was involved in Ramon Mitra’s 1992 presidential campaign said in an interview that the task of the ‘point man’ was simple: to alert media handlers about negative stories emanating from their rival camps and to feed editors with press releases. The point men were usually reporters or desk editors who had knowledge of what was going on in newsrooms. The payments to these insiders were made either ‘monthly, on a regular basis’ or on a ‘case-to-case basis,’ which often turned out to be more expensive, this source added.
Tabloids and Radio for Local Contests
“One former journalist who worked on the media staff of a Lakas-NUCD local candidate during the 1995 elections said in an interview that campaign funds were used to ‘buy’ from 30,000 to 50,000 copies of at least three tabloids which set aside prominent space for the candidate’s press releases.
“Since the money they paid covered what newspaper dealers paid for, the copies were practically distributed free to the dealers themselves. The setup allowed the candidate’s strategists to use the distribution network of the tabloids, as well as to specify which areas they wanted to flood.
On To 1998
“Election laws limit campaign spending by a party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates to only P15 per registered voter, and to P8 for the rest of the candidates seeking other posts. With some 34 million registered voters in 1998, a presidential candidate who belonged to a political party ought to have spent no more than P508 million.
“Some analysts, however, such as the Institute of Popular Democracy, estimated that a serious presidential candidate needed to spend some P1.5 billion to P3 billion for the 1998 campaign. These sums were supposed to cover the costs of operating and maintaining a political machine, media and propaganda, as well as election and post-election day activities. Indeed, by most accounts, the 1998 elections were among the most expensive ever.
“Our interviews with media handlers and candidates themselves indicate that candidates, especially for national positions like the presidency and the Senate, were willing to spend ridiculously high amounts of money to ensure media visibility and favorable coverage. For example, one senatorial candidate in 1998 told us she was given a list of 30 names by her PR officer. The list included reporters, editors, and columnists. The candidate admitted maintaining a P250,000 monthly budget for these payoffs: P5,000 to P10,000 for reporters and P10,000 to P15,000 a month for editors and columnists.
1998 Administration Party Spending“If one were to go by the Lakas campaign spokesperson Annabelle Abaya’s estimate that media expenses account for 20 percent of a campaign budget, the administration party could have spent anywhere from P300 million to P600 million of the P1.5 billion to P3 billion total campaign budget estimated by various analysts.
“The Speaker began setting up his machinery early, spending on pay offs to selected reporters even before the start of the campaign period: from P2,000 to P5,000 a month in 1995, rising to between P7,000 and P10,000 in the period before Ramos was expected to name his successor, a former journalist involved in handling the media for the Lakas campaign said in an interview. Around September 1997, in the runup to the Lakas convention and Ramos’s expected “annointment,” de Venecia’s operators focused on editors. By then, the amounts were higher: P50,000 per senior editor was common, a well-placed media operative said.
Airwaves With a Tag Price“Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC), owner of popular station DZRH, told the media strategists of one presidential candidate that in exchange for P20 million, his candidate would be guaranteed very favorable news coverage anytime and anywhere for the duration of the campaign. In addition, the station would warn him of any negative stories from rival camps and immediately air the candidate’s side, even downplay or twist the attack to lessen, if not reverse, its impact.
“A letter signed by an MBC ad and promo manager, Marielle Vergara, confirmed what the media strategists said. The letter, a copy of which we obtained, offered candidates four ‘media visibility options’ radio coverage during a city or provincial campaign rally; a five-minute live radio interview; news releases about campaign activities read over radio; and a voice-over for public service information radio plugs.
“There were apparently set rates, media handlers of various candidates said in separate interviews. Presidential candidates were charged in the vicinity of P20 million, while vice-presidential candidates were billed half that amount. Senatorial candidates were presented with P2 million-P3 million packages, but one administration candidate was able to swing a discounted P800,000 through the intercession of a reporter.
“The station, however, strongly denies that these arrangements took place. Through MBC assistant vice president for personnel and administration Gil Torres, DZRH stressed it did not authorize any person or employee to ‘conduct solicitation from any candidate.’
“Shedding robes of propriety, even the Catholic Church-run Radyo Veritas (DZRV) joined the bandwagon. Just before the May 1998 elections, the station’s dismissed news director accused Bishop Teodoro Buhain, president of Radio Veritas-Global Broadcasting System Inc. of trying to solicit political advertisement from candidates in the last elections. Officially, Rafael Molino’s services were terminated effective May 9, 1998 for ‘breach of trust.’
“The Catholic station offered varying rates to candidates, depending on the posts they were seeking. Presidential and vice-presidential candidates, for example, were asked to pay P20,000 for studio or phone interviews with affiliate stations from 8 to 9 a.m. for the duration of the campaign. Senatorial candidates were asked to pay half the amount, while local candidates were offered a lower P5,000.
“Station manager Rommel Lopez dismissed Molino’s expose, saying that though they had sent out proposals, none of the candidates responded positively.
Tabloid Flat Rates
“These package deals were not limited to radio. The print media, too, peddled their own packages to candidates. One advantage newspapers have over radio is lower advertising costs, although their reach is also more limited.
“A group of tabloid editors got together to talk business days before the campaign period, one of those editors disclosed in an interview. These editors all belonged to one publishing group and they agreed among themselves to peg a ‘flat rate’ for every political story that their papers accommodated. P5,000, they thought, was a reasonable rate to charge, the editor said. This way, there was at least consistency within the five-tabloid publishing company with regard to story rates.
“Politicians and their media handlers, however, these editors later found out, went over their heads and straight to the big boss who supervised the company’s tabloids. The boss, in turn, distributed the press releases from the media handlers, instructing all the tabloid editors to use them. One of the editors said in an interview that the deal cost P100,000 per candidate but that the money did not filter down to the newsroom. On occasion, however, when the boss felt generous, he shared P5,000 with a ‘select group of editors and reporters.’
Pages for Sale“One broadsheet, according to an article in the Inquirer, ordinarily charged P5,000 for front page photos. Quoting a media officer of one candidate, the Inquirer said the reporter responsible for bringing the photo into the newsroom received a P1,000 commission while the editor who found a place for it, got the remaining P4,000. Presidential candidates were charged higher and had to pay P15,000, while senatorial candidates were asked P10,000 for photos they wanted on page one, the Inquirer reported. Even the paper’s banner story had a price: P25,000 as compared to a front-page-above-the-fold placement that carried a P20,000 tag. A short press release cost P5,000.
In Dire Straits
“Television, by far, is perhaps the most generous among the media in terms of pay.
“Despite the good pay, however, there were still cases of some broadcast managers who reportedly received P100,000 lump sum as ‘standard payment’ during the campaign period. Citing another instance, a television reporter said an anchor who is paid well runs a public relations agency on the side. The anchor takes political accounts and works with a network of reporters, some of whom are employed by other television stations.
The Ad Ban As Scapegoat
For Corruption“Media strategist Dante Ang, who handled Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s campaign, estimated that without any restrictions, a well-funded campaign would allocate up to P10 million a month for radio alone. The money would buy a candidate about an hour’s worth of exposure everyday in a Manila radio station. During the campaign proper, Ang said, the expense bloats to an incredible P30 million monthly because as many stations as possible are targeted. The production of infomercials, he added, is also expensive.
“According to industry estimates, leading radio stations charge from P6,000 to P10,000 for prime time 30-second spots. For television, top station ABS-CBN’s 30-second prime time spots in early 1998 ranged from P18,090 to P97,500, depending on the time slot, while those of GMA-7 ranged from P39,000 to P83,850.
A Matter of Ethics
“Disturbed about the implications of media corruption in the recent elections, Melinda Quintos de Jesus, executive director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), said that once journalists become accountable to people running a campaign, ‘the entire campaign period for the Philippine press becomes a period of great questioning.’
“‘If you have a bought media, then you have an election whose results might be determined simply by the force of money,’ she said in an article published by the Manila Times.
“When asked about specific cases of media corruption they know about, reporters recited a litany of sins: reporters receiving monthly retainers of from P5,000 to P10,000; financed foreign trips; nights out in pubs, sauna baths and restaurants; contracts brokered for corporations with promised commissions in exchange; five- to six-figure lump sum payments for various services; even a P1-million fee good for two years for a group of reporters tasked to set up a consultancy agency by their sources.
What Now?“Corruption in the media has taken on a life of its own, it seems, but the persistent efforts of professionals to deal with it are an indication that all is not helplessly lost. Hobbled as it may be by a lack of resources and increasing cynicism within its ranks, the Philippine free press has demonstrated some commitment and progress in its efforts to clean up and restore its status as a credible guardian of the public good.”
At this point, I end my excerpts from the book. I confess that my individual reaction is unprintable. However, even granting that there might be anecdotal inaccuracies in this book, it seems to indicate that unless government institutes reforms in campaign financing, there would be no point in holding elections, or even in amending the Constitution.
If this trend of electoral corruption continues, the most pragmatic alternative seems to be to auction off the presidency to the candidate who can put in a bid of P3 billion or higher, with no questions asked. And since the presidency would be for sale, we may as well be consistent, and also sell to the highest bidder all elective public positions. Let me add that we should also stop holding televised presidential debates, because now it turns out that those debates were merely a sophomoric farce, having been totally inconsequential.
Of course, this is cynicism at its worst. But it is a cynicism based on harsh reality. For example, the salary of a senator is only P32,000 monthly, or P384,000 a year, making a total of P2,304,000 for a six-year term. Since it is so low, even allowing for campaign contributions from legitimate sources, how can a senator -- or anyone else for that matter -- run for president, if a candidate will need P3 billion, of which P600 million will be allocated for propaganda, including the corruption of the media? I submit that every Filipino, senator or not, has a moral duty to answer this question in conscience.
Naturally the answer will be long in coming. But I submit that the Senate can start with a simple and practical answer. In the past Tenth Congress, I filed a bill entitled “The Code of Professional Standards for the Practice of Political Public Relations.” In this Eleventh Congress, I refiled the bill last June 30, and it is now docketed as Senate Bill No. 280. I believe that it has been referred to the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, whose members I urgently request to act immediately on the bill. I submit that passage of this bill is urgent, in the light of the revelations made in this book. The Senate cannot afford to remain in conspiratorial silence at this time when the truth about endemic corruption in political public relations -- or at the very least its recognizable approximation -- has at last been seriously acknowledged and remains to be confronted.
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The Isulong Team: Isulong SEOPh, Isulong Seoph by Benj, Pinoy Isulong by Seoph Martinez and Useless Isulong