By declaring her candidacy, is Tess Cusipag submitting herself to PPCO's Jurisdiction?

 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’