The ‘Advocacy Network for Socially
Responsible and Ethical Journalism’, writes this brief in light of an
unexpected development that may be related to the complaint that a group of
concerned citizens forwarded to the PPCO on December 17, 2012. The events
preceding it are recounted below.
Content / Summary:
- The Complaint was submitted on December 17, 2012.
- Cusipag’s First ‘Defense’ - PPCO is just a social club.
- “Historical Timeline of PPCO’s Transformation from Social Club to Professional Organization with Rules of Governance and Code of Ethics”, debunks Cusipag’s First Defense.
- An exercise of PPCO’s Governance: the internal transmittal of complaint to the Membership Committee.
- Cusipag’s Second ‘Defense’ that PPCO’s rules are for internal use only.
- Self-Regulating exercise of Governance: the discretionary disposition of Marquez’ application as member in the PPCO.
- Cusipag’s Third ‘Defense’ was to consider outright Resignation from PPCO.
- Cusipag’s Fourth ‘Defense’ was to discredit the Complaint as fraudulent.
- March 3, 2013 election for the vacated positions of President and Vice-president
- Has Cusipag finally come to terms in accepting the PPCO’s mandate?
The Complaint was Submitted to PPCO on
December 17, 2012
When the initial group of about 10
concerned members of the Fil-Canadian community gathered on December 4, 2012 to
discuss the community’s response to several disturbing articles published by
Balita not much was known of the Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO) other
than it was an association of media practitioners in the community. It was
later discovered that the PPCO had in fact a Code of Ethics enshrined as part
of their Constitution and Bylaws. After a thorough discussion, the group decided
to present a formal complaint with the PPCO. After a draft of the complaint
became available, they then proceeded to gather additional support to form the
initial batch of 64 ‘signatories’. The complaint was submitted to PPCO on
December 17, 2012.
Cusipag’s First ‘Defense’ - PPCO is
just a “Social Club”
Curiously, the initial reaction of Tess
Cusipag and her writers was not to refute the issues raised in the complaint or
to defend the merits of the articles, but to contend that the PPCO is just a social
club and therefore it has no business entertaining such complaints from the
public. Balita seemed to say PPCO did not have the mandate to sanction its
membership.
Perhaps Cusipag and company were not
aware that PPCO had ratified a new constitution and adopted a code of ethics in
early 2012. This is rather perplexing considering that Mogi Mogado, a long-time
staffer of Balita, was the chair of the Constitutional Committee, which
included Rose Tijam, Hermie Garcia, Melinda Rustia and Jonathan Canchela, that
drafted the new Constitution and By-Laws which incorporated the Journalists
Code of Ethics.
Cusipag’s dogged insistence, as
reflected by the series of articles posted by her associate editor, Romeo
Marquez, that PPCO is merely a social club was not refuted, or even commented
upon by any one in authority at the PPCO.
“Historical Timeline of PPCO’s Transformation
from Social Club to Professional Organization with Rules of Governance and Code
of Ethics” debunks Cusipag’s First Defense
Cusipag and company’s description of
PPCO as merely a “social club” led one of the complainants to research on the
history of PPCO. His findings were presented in, “Historical Timeline of PPCO’sTransformation from a Social Club to a ProfessionalOrganization with Rules ofGovernance and Code of Ethics” which
clearly debunks Cusipag’s claim to the contrary.
As the Timeline clearly shows, the
insistence that PPCO is merely a social club is absurd. The adoption of the
amended Constitution and By-laws, together with its Code of Ethics for
Journalists, as recommended by the Mogado Committee, cannot be construed as
anything but PPCO’s declaration as a self-regulatory body, both for its
internal governance as well as for the protection of the general public against
possible excesses of the press. To insist that PPCO remains as a social club
defies logic.
An Exercise of PPCO’s Governance: the
internal transmittal of Complaint to Membership Committee
Early on, acting president Ruby
Talavera (president Ricky Caluen being on sick leave) disclosed that the
complaint was transmitted to the Membership Committee, headed by Jess Cabrias,
which has the mandate to look into it. The referral of the complaint to the
Membership Committee evidences that PPCO has the mandate to look into such
matters and constitutes irrefutable proof PPCO is not just a social club. Such
disposition by a responsible officer of PPCO is an exercise in governance in
the context of PPCO being a self-regulatory body.
Cusipag’s Second ‘Defense’ that PPCO’s
rules are for internal use only
Along comes Marquez, by his own
admission a practitioner of muckraking journalism, with an innovative, but
hollow attempt at discrediting the complaint. He argues that PPCO’s rules are
meant for its internal purposes only. Marquez reasons he himself cannot
complain to the PPCO, being a non-member, even though he is a “journalist”. If
he himself cannot complain, neither can the public, or so his reasoning goes.
But one only needs to read the objectives of PPCO to know that it recognizes an
obligation to the public.
Another Example of Exercise of
Self-Regulating Governance: the discretionary disposition of Marquez’
membership application with PPCO
As a side note, we have learned that
Marquez has applied for membership with PPCO, but it seems he has not succeeded
in gaining acceptance up to this point. We have to wonder why he would
want to join a social club, given his self-proclaimed commitment to ‘high
standards’ of journalism. Can Marquez, for once, tell us why he wants to
join the club, and also, in the interest of truth and transparency, what
happened to his application?
If one looks closely at Marquez’s
membership application, one sees the process of assessment and evaluation as
further incontestable proof of self-governance as a professional organization.
If PPCO is merely a social club, there should have been no qualms in admitting
Marquez and he should have been a member by now, because he obviously passes
the simple criterion of being a media practitioner. There must have been a
valid reason why his application was not favorably acted upon, and that
discretionary exercise again demonstrates that PPCO is a self-regulating body.
Cusipag’s Third ‘Defense’ was to
consider outright Resignation from PPCO
Cusipag’s third avenue of ‘defense’ was
to tender her outright resignation in an email to PPCO. We speculate that
in resigning she wanted to avoid being sanctioned. We speculate further that
she must have been demoralized because she has not received support or
encouragement from the membership of PPCO, other than from her few loyalist
friends. Reports filtered out that she was resigning in order not to suffer the
humiliation that she, a giant among her peers whom she referred to as “ants”,
might be subjected to during the conduct of investigation, and/or associated
with a potential disciplinary action if she is found to have violated the
PPCO’s Code of Ethics.
Cusipag’s Fourth ‘Defense’ was to
discredit the Complaint as “fraudulent”
Cusipag’s fourth attempt at defense was
to discredit the complaint, calling it fraudulent because supposedly two
‘signatories’ did not sign on paper. The fact is, no one has signed the
complaint on a hard copy paper. But all signified their support by email or
verbally by phone or in a face to face conversation, after the petition was
explained to them. The process was rechecked and confirmed. But even with 2
less signatories, one cannot argue that a complaint signed by 62 other
signatories is invalid.
More revealing though is that the two “signatories”
who reportedly disowned the complaint have business connections with
Balita. Could their withdrawals have been prompted by threats or
intimidation in the work-place? Whatever may have been the reasons, it is
important for the public to know that no one else among the original
petitioners have disowned the complaint despite attempts by Marquez to contact
them.
With the continuous depiction of PPCO
as lacking in mandate to accept or address the complaint, its leadership was
paralyzed from pursuing further action. Marquez bannered his headlines with the
demand that PPCO junk the complaint.
March 3, 2013 Election for the vacated
positions of President and Vice-president
We now come upon this disturbing news
that both the President and the Vice-President have resigned their positions.
We do not wish to speculate on their reasons for resigning. Some people
do these things when they do not wish to be embroiled in a nasty conflict or
when they fear potential negative consequences to themselves.
Since there is no succession rule to
PPCO’s leadership beyond the two top positions, it became necessary for the
PPCO’s secretary to announce a special meeting and election on March 3, 2013.
Now comes the news that Tessie Cusipaghas formally announced her decision to run for election as President of PPCO,
with her loyal associate editor, Mogi Mogado, as her VP running mate.
Has Cusipag finally come to terms in
accepting the PPCO’s mandate?
This brings us to our initial question,
by declaring her candidacy, is Tess Cusipag submitting herself to PPCO’s
jurisdiction?
By declaring her candidacy perhaps
Cusipag has come to realize that the only way to resolve the complaint is not
to derail PPCO’s mandate to address the complaint, but to be part of the process
in its deliberation. There is no denying that if her candidacy succeeds, she
would be in a position to influence the decision even if conflict of interest
rules will bar her from participating in the deliberations that involve herself
personally or Balita.
Whatever her motivations may be for
running, we consider Cusipag’s candidacy as a catalyst for bringing about
desired changes in the way the organization interacts with the community.
Judging from its past, PPCO is an association that is continuously transforming
itself to become a better and more relevant partner in community building and
development.
We are confident that the PPCO’s
general membership will elect responsible officers who will provide
revitalized leadership with a political will to exercise its mandate as a
promoter of excellence in journalism and as the guardian of the community’s
collective conscience.
The ‘Advocacy Network for
Socially Responsible and Ethical Journalism’
