Some of GMA's journalists don’t practice ethics in their profession. Irresponsible news for the people. Shame on you, Tina Panganiban-Perez.
In Patricia Non's press conference on the temporary halting of the Maginhawa Community Pantry...
Tina Panganiban-Perez of GMA News:
"To clear things once and for all, meron ka bang links to communist groups? Ano ang basis ng lahat ng redtagging?"
I fucking gasped when I was watching the live presscon. Sobrang irresponsible. Good on Ana Patricia Non for answering graciously and calling this out.
'Ang dumi po ng question na yan.' Ana Patricia Non criticized Perez' question on whether she has communist links.
Red-baiting, a very common practice from reactionaries and state-sponsored media. Mask-off na talaga ang GMA News.
It's not just Tina Panganiban-Perez. GMA News is basically the Manila Bulletin for TV and Radio now. Fuck this channel 7 and everyone who lets them spread their filth everywhere.
Nakalimutan na yata ni Tina Panganiban-Perez ang basic media ethics of DOING NO HARM. What she asked is not only a stupid question but also endangers Patreng Non and her co-volunteers' security. It was indirect red-tagging. Ano 'to, mouthpiece na rin kayo ng NTF-ELCAC?
"The last thing I need to explain sa mga tao ay kung sino ba ako, kasi malinaw ang intensyon ko," said Non in a Zoom press conference this afternoon.
"So between me and other people na nagkulang ng response, tingin ko hindi dapat ako ang nage-explain kung ano ba'ko, sino ba'ko.... Tigilan po natin ang ganitong pambibintang dahil napaka-delikado po laluna sa panahon ngayon."
Currently facing the dangers of red-tagging (most notably by NTF-ELCAC), Non explained that such accusations do not only endanger the lives of organizers, but also affect individuals who are benefiting from the initiative.
"Kung wala po kayong iaambag sa mga tao at hindi niyo sila kikilalanin, mas mabuti na lang pong huwag tayong magsalita ng ganitong mga bagay, kasi ilang pamilya po 'yung maaapektuhan e," Non said.
Non, who launched the Maginhawa Community Pantry last Wednesday (Apr. 14), said it was the "agitating" national situation, wherein many Filipinos have been struggling to make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic, that inspired her to start the project.
But after the ripple effect sparked by the initiative came the troubles. Police officers were reported of allegedly profiling organizers of community pantries; posts claimed without basis that communists were behind the project.
Tina Panganiban-Perez, what kind of stupid question was that? Asking someone if they're CPP is not only unproductive (as if aamin silang CPP sila!), it makes people associate that these individuals and efforts MIGHT be affiliated with the party. That is indirect red-tagging!
Wala na, na-associate na ng mga DDS na makakaliwa ung nagpasimula even go lengths na propaganda daw yang pantry. Kababasa ko lang mga tweets ng mga DDS and it's kinda disappointing.
Isn't Tina Panganiban Perez a graduate of UP Masscomm? If she is, she should know from the historical experience of the university that "do you have ties to communists?" can NEVER be a harmless question. Loaded at malicious yan. How would she feel if SHE herself gets asked that?
For someone who was accused of "abetting rebellion" and thereafter berated by Gloria Arroyo in 2003 when she interviewed Gringo Honasan, Tina Panganiban Perez should have known better. Her line of questioning kowtows with the narrative of the regime / enablers of red tagging.
I think Tina Panganiban-Perez should apologize for asking an uncalled question. What an irresponsible journalism.
Tina Panganiban Perez is Done.
After her past stupidity, she does it again this time on the Community Pantry.
She is no longer a Journalist, But a DeDeEs Propagandist.
Remember this: GMA took park in maligning community pantries and red-tagging of its organizers by bad framing and poor and biased reporting.
While Malacañang said these initiatives should be left alone, it did not specifically address whether it was wrong for NTF-ELCAC, the government's anti-communist task force, to make such accusations.
Dear Spox Roque,
Sa ganitong context applicable yung question being "unchristian" (malicious).
Tina Panganiban-Perez, please learn from this exchange.
To ask a red-tagged person if he or she is a communist is to assume truth behind a baseless accusation. Please be more professional and ethical. Two words: Nakakahiya ka!
This is a sincere call-out to all journos, not to fall into the mediocrity of asking anyone not with the government side if they are Communist or part of Communist groups which only encourage the horrible culture of red-tagging.
Journos should be more sensitive. The elephant in the room should have been addressed to the police or whoever is accusing. Then journo may ask the red tagged for comment.
One of the five principles of journalism is humaneness, of which sensitivity is part. The bottom line here is to ask for proof. And then the one being red-tagged will comment on that proof. That would make the story more informative, if not in-depth.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
