Angelhouser | A Journal By Angelica Bautista Viloria

Friday, August 31, 2007

Are You Saying That...

Salbahe talaga ang Inquirer. Their headline today reads: "Surprise! 7.5% growth" And today, I realize even more why Inquirer is my favorite newspaper. It's not only because they have my favorite writer Conrado de Quiros but because they make reading the newspapers entertaining. In my forty years, I have realized that what gets communicated through media all depends on the "spin" that a certain story will take. Am sure GMA's head is spinning in anger as she reads the Inquirer today.

I caught the video footage yesterday on television when a reporter was asking GMA about the fantabulous economic results being reported. She responded by saying: "Are you saying that the NSCB people are liars?..." I personally got irritated right there and then and I thought that the remark was uncalled for. The reporter was asking a legitimate question and she did not deserve such an answer. The last time I looked, being in Malacanang does not give you the power to put words in other people's mouths.

Did we get the explanation? Well, in the newspapers today, the explanation is there. The evening newscasts only run for 30 minutes so right after that response, the video was cut. You could say that it was a bit unfair as people will now be focusing on what GMA said and will probably think that the answer never came but that is the risk that she took by coming up with that question rather than addressing the legitimate concern of the reporter (and probably numerous other Filipinos) directly.

Oh well. So what are we in fact saying? I will spell out what I want to say. We are saying that most people do not feel the 7.5% economic growth. We are saying that we need leaders who will think first before they open their mouths. We are saying that 2010 seems to be an awfully long time from today. What we didn't say was Hello Garci. =)

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