Perhaps it’s too much to ask of ABS-CBN, though.
Common sense should dictate that the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) student body was not the only aggrieved party. They weren’t the one who was “mistakenly” reported as being shouted at with trapo. Vice President Jejomar Binay, the one invited to the forum, was.
Then again, common sense is not so common in the Philippines.
The question that people should be asking next is this: did ABS-CBN apologize because they truly regret what they did, or is it just because they got caught?
This whole incident also makes me wonder about other certain other things. Filipinos are generally not known for admitting they made mistakes, much less apologizing for them, especially if they happen to be in a position of authority or influence. Like the media. Getting them to admit their mistake, even if caught red-handed, is like pulling teeth, what more if no one speaks up or complains?
So let’s start from there: Why did ABS-CBN apologize to the UPLB student body, but not Jejomar Binay? Is it because, at this point, only the UPLB student body has complained, and not the office of the VP? So, if nobody complained, no harm, no foul? Ganoon na lang ba iyon (Are we supposed to leave it at that)?
One would think that the office of the VP would be an entity that no one would want to mess with. The student body of the state university is no less a big and frightful prospect, but let’s be real about things, it would be very, very foolish to even think of aggrieving the second highest elected government position in the land.
But of course, this is the Philippines, where common sense and logic do not seem to penetrate.
Curious of that which defies logic, we ask next: what did ABS-CBN see in the UPLB student body, or what does the UPLB student body have, that forced the media company to apologize? Were they that afraid of the social media backlash, primarily with the Twitter hashtag #ABSCBNSaySorrytoUPLB? Just because the office of the VP has comparatively less social media presence, it can be ignored? Babalewalain na lang sana ng ABS ang opisina ng Pangalawang Pangulo, ganoon lang?
Next thing we confront is a most likely reaction: Bakit naman magsosorry ang ABS-CBN kay Binay, eh totoo naman na trapo siya? (Why would ABS-CBN say sorry to Binay for what they did, he is a trapo anyway.)
Whether Jejomar Binay is a trapo or not is strictly beside the point. Whether you are pro-Binay or not does not matter. The issue here is simple: ABS-CBN committed an error against two entities: the UPLB student body and the VP. It should apologize to both aggrieved parties because it is the right thing to do.
It is that simple.
Isn’t that a familiar theme in Philippine society, though? That the aggrieved deserve whatever they get because they’re bad entities from the Filipino point of view, so therefore Filipinos have no fault? The end justifies the means? There’s always an excuse and “a good reason” for everything Filipinos do?
Hmm…
I’ve got no words for such type of thinking, really, except maybe just one:
Pathetic.
[Photo courtesy: minibalita.com]
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