EDITORIAL – Just doing our job

If there’s anything that has characterized the Aquino administration from Day One, it is that it has a penchant for blaming others for whatever ails the nation – or itself. In the early days of the Benigno Aquino III presidency, such buck-passing was understandable and even acceptable. After all, the county had just gone through nine years under the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and it was under her term that numerous scandals and controversies exploded. These range from allegations of cheating in the 2004 presidential elections to accusations of corruption in the highest levels of government. The net effect was the awful mess that Aquino inherited when he stepped in in 2010, and the people were only too happy to give him leeway as he set out to make things right for the country.
But to play the blame game this late into his presidency – with little more than a year left in his term – is no longer acceptable for the President. At this point, any debacle the administration experiences must necessarily rest squarely on the shoulders of the chief executive himself. To blame someone else for an official misfortune is to take the short and easy path – not the straight one. Which is why the Palace’s statement blaming the media for the drastic drop in the President’s approval ratings leaves such a bad taste in the mouth.
The media, after all, are merely communicators, tellers of the truth in a world where obfuscation is the name of the game. While there are admittedly some practitioners who have questionable ethics and can be paid to attack or defend anyone (a practice called AC-DC – or attack collect, defend collect), the vast majority are professionals who are literally just doing their job. And that job is to inform the people of what their government is doing, be it good or bad, dignified or scandalous, beneficial or downright criminal. If government does it, it is the people’s right to know it.
Besides, Mr. Aquino is one of the biggest beneficiaries of an active media industry. Had it not been for media coverage, he would not have been propelled into the national stage. And had it not been for the numerous reports on the scandals that rocked the Arroyo administration, there would have been no reason for the people to vote for him. Do not blame the media, Mr. President. We are just doing our job.