POOLED REPORT
Visayas
Journalists Hit Media Corruption
Although corruption in
the media is rampant in Eastern Visayas (EV), there are still journalists
here who believe that it is never justifiable to engage in any form of
corruption just because of poor economic condition of journalists.
BY MAUREEN JAPZON
Bulatlat
TACLOBAN CITY –
Although corruption in the media is rampant in Eastern Visayas (EV), there
are still journalists here who believe that it is never justifiable to
engage in any form of corruption just because of poor economic condition
of journalists.
“Media people will
not like (discussing media corruption) because you can make them
uncomfortable, but it has to come out, it will be like a bitter
medicine…nevertheless it is a warning that it is happening because we had
allowed it to be…so freedom of speech or of the press is distorted,” said
Rollie Montilla, Eastern Times editor and National Union of
Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Leyte chapter president.
According to National
Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), P513.42 ($9.96, based on an
exchange rate of P51.52 per US dollar) is needed every day for a family of
six in the region to meet basic needs. However, broadcast journalists in
the region are only paid P1,500 to P8,000 ($29.11 to $155.28) monthly,
while print journalists receive P50 to P350 ($0.97 to $6.79) for every
published article or P2, 400 ($46.58) monthly on the average.
The government-owned
Radyo Natin (Our Radio) stations have monthly salary rates ranging
from P13,000 to P18,000 ($252.33 to $349.38) for their reporters. The
three Radyo Natin stations in EV are DYOG in Calbayog, Samar, DYES
in Borongan, Eastern Samar and DYSL in Sogod, Southern Leyte. Data from
the Philippine Information Agency Region VIII show that there are 25
newspapers operating in the region. Of this number, only one newspaper,
the Leyte Samar Daily Express, operates daily and regularly pays
their reporters.
Belt-tightening
According to several journalists here, the
salary that they receive is not enough to provide for the needs of their
families.
“I need to tighten my
belt just to make my salary sufficient for my needs. My passion or love
for media work is the only reason that holds me back from accepting other
jobs,” said a single, female broadcast journalist. She also added that her
salary could not even buy all her personal needs, much less save money at
the end of the month.
The story is much
worse for a married broadcaster with one child. Even though he earns
additional income from block-time programs, his average income of almost
P8,000 ($155.28) monthly is still not enough. The pre-school education
alone of his child already costs more than P2,000 ($38.82) a month. “I
just enjoy my work (even if) the salary I receive is barely enough for my
family to survive.”
Even the highest paid
Radyo Natin senior reporter who receives almost P18,000 ($349.38)
monthly also complained about inadequate income to support his five
children. He said that he resorts to borrowing money to augment what he
described as his “meager income.”
Print journalists who
earn less salary are forced to look for part-time jobs. It has become
common practice for newspaper writers to engage also in the sale of
advertisements where they can receive a 15-percent to 30-percent
commission. Most of the time, the commission they receive from
advertisements is much higher than the pay for their published articles.
Displaced
journalists
To improve the
working condition of the former Bombo Radyo Tacloban Station
employees, a union was organized and the workers there applied for
voluntary recognition from the management. The latter, however, opted to
declare bankruptcy and permanently close the station without giving just
compensation to all employees.
“After the closure of the Bombo Radyo
station here in Tacloban last March 2003, almost all of our colleagues
still have no jobs. Some are employed as casual workers in government
agencies, others tried to set up their own newspaper and others left for
Manila to look for jobs. Only Allan Amistoso (union president) is better
off because he ran and got elected to a government post. Just a few of us
remain in the media industry,” lamented Mark Morallos, a former Bombo
Radyo announcer and union officer.
For almost three years now, the case of
the employees union against the management is still pending final in the 2nd
Division of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in Cebu.
According to Nestor Martinez, despite the
economic hardships faced by their families right after the closure, they
do not regret forming a union. “We stood for what is right and
constitutional. We had been helping the deprived sectors of our society
through our radio programs. Why not help ourselves to alleviate our
economic condition?”
Morallos added that
the only media organization that provided them financial support during
the early part of their picket was the International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) through NUJP, its affiliate here in the Philippines.
Cases of corruption
“Others (journalists)
resort to “envelopmental journalism” or even payola system to (augment
their) meager income,” explains a married broadcaster who refused to be
identified. He said that in May or June, he saw a list of journalists
under the payroll of the Leyte provincial government. He said that these
groups of journalists are getting salary from the Leyte Province as job
order (JO) employees. Aside from that, they also receive envelopes
containing money during press conferences.
Another young male
broadcast journalist shared his experience with senior reporters. He was
given a follow-up assignment in a far-flung municipality in Samar where he
stayed for almost three days. Upon his return and after sharing the
results of his investigation, the senior reporters who gave him the
assignment dismissed the allegations as lies, even though facts he
gathered say otherwise. He learned later that the alleged perpetrator of
the crime already held a meeting with these senior reporters. After the
said meeting, the very hard-hitting commentaries against the alleged
perpetrator immediately died down.
“After the incident,
I immediately decided to leave and look for another outlet,” said the
young male broadcast journalist.
No praise releases
“Bribery
is a human nature. Journalists as journalists find excuses. They are
thinking that they are not doing anything wrong while others even think
that they are entitled to it, which is very bad,” lamented Montilla.
The young female broadcast journalist, for
her part, said that she was culture shocked with how easily politicians
here distribute money. “It is not right for us to receive any bribe from
anybody, because what will happen is we will be reporting a `praise
release’ and we will not able to expose any anomalies.” Bulatlat
Underpaid, Under Fire, Under Pressure
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