Bulatlat

The recent political tumult in the Philippines ending in the ouster of president Joseph Ejercito Estrada showed once again the role of the mass media in shaping a strong public consciousness and in arriving at a decisive political message – the ouster of a corrupt and inept ruler. The Philippine press, particularly its liberal sections, had been under pressure by Estrada officials.

They used unjust means to whip the press it into the Malacañang line and keep it mum on burning issues, such as cronyism, corrupt practices of Estrada, his kin and friends, crime syndicates with a network that extended to the Palace, the Mindanao war and human-rights violations. But such pressures emboldened the progressive segments of the press even more. The exposés and criticisms of the progressive press complemented the struggles of grassroots organizations and street parliamentarians whose campaign to oust the Estrada regime began long before Juetengate.

The organized masses’ campaigns initially focused on continued land conversions under the bogus agrarian reform program, against globalization that aggravated the country’s economic woes through mass layoffs, reduced incomes and high prices, as well as against widespread militarization and violations of human rights especially in Mindanao. These issues converged to repudiate the regime’s “Erap para sa mahirap (Erap for the poor)” slogan as an empty rhetoric. Estrada’s unbridled corruption, cronyism and perceived links to criminal gangs, as exposed by his long-time buddy Chavit Singson, stirred the nationwide indignation that would climax into People Power 2.

The January 16-20, 2001 People Power 2 took place not only because the masses wanted to depose a corrupt leader. The people rose in outrage because they felt betrayed by the same traditional leadership that took over after People Power 1 – an élite rule that quashed the democratic interests and aspirations of the many and used the state machinery in the service of the powers that be, local and foreign. A disgraced presidency has fallen but the task of bringing about genuine change and people-oriented governance must go on. At bottom, there is no prospect that the new dispensation would be different from the regimes that alternated after Edsa 1986. However, People Power 2 has provided new impetus for the struggle for fundamental political change.

The courage and unity displayed by the people who poured out into the streets in their millions inspired a group of writers and media practitioners to come out with this online magazine. Bulatlat.com aims to contribute to this struggle for change and give fuel dynamism to the sovereign exercise of the power of the people. This online publication has the following mission:

■ To fight for truth and justice. It will dig out facts buried by censorship and corruption and lay them out for public scrutiny, without fear or favor. It will denounce media repression and uphold the responsibility of journalists’ – for that matter, every Filipino’s - to assert the people’s right to know and to freedom of expression. It will interpret events from the perspective of the people and not from the subjectivism and biases of media monopolies.

■ To fight for freedom. We will contribute to the crusade for freedom in all its aspects - not only freedom from hunger and social injustice but also freedom to chart the nation’s destiny independently. Freedom must be advanced by information, ideas and theories that shall liberate one’s mind from neocolonial demagoguery that glorifies globalization as well as from conservatism that venerates elitist rule. The struggle for nationalist thought remains an enduring part of the people’s broad struggle for freedom and democracy.

■ To fight against the abuse and misuse of power by the country’s top political leaders. The Estrada regime brought to a new high the level of corruption, cronyism and abuse of authority to amass wealth in cahoots with his friends, allies and shady characters. A system that is in crisis begets crisis in the scale of the Estrada scandal. Bulatlat.com will do its share in exposing lies, wrongdoings and other misdeeds that have been committed to advance not only corruption and cronyism but also repression and tyranny.

We call on our colleagues and friends in the media, as well as in other sectors, to contribute news, analysis and commentaries to this people’s website. We are particularly interested in 1) items which you think your editors may bump off out of fear or pressure; 2) items which will warrant wider circulation, including international audiences; and 3) items which you want to “AIR” - for public Attention, Investigation and Response. Board of Editors Bulatlat February 7, 2001