Mayday! Mayday! for the aviation industry

The local aviation industry could crash if the exodus of aviation experts does not slow down. The industry is composed of two sectors: the airlines and the service providers.

``Poaching at the highest level’’ was how a Filipino airline executive called the aggressive recruitment by foreign airlines. These ``poachers’’ have been reportedly coming to make choice pickings from the Philippines’ pool of highly trained experts. They could offer higher pay because they had not spent money and time to train their own.

More than 100 hundred Filipino pilots to go. This was what the Indian air industry was reportedly in search of during its recent recruitment foray in the Philippines. That’s too many considering that the Philippines’ has about only 700 commercial pilots to go around.

Singapore reportedly has an active order for 50 pilots pending at the Philippine Overseas and Employment Association.

From 2004 to 2005, more than 200 aircraft mechanics and aviation support staff have left the country according to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) figures. Philippine Airlines (PAL) has lost 75 pilots in the last three years to different airlines in the Middle East and Asia.



``We could lose more and we are feeling the pinch,’’ said PAL vice president for human resources Cesar Lamberte. ``India will be needing 3,500 pilots in the next four to five years.’’ The projected number is about 10,000 pilots for China in the next 20 years.

The good news is that Filipino airplane pilots, mechanics, engineers, technicians, airline crew, etc. are so good that they are in such great demand abroad. The bad news is that they are being snapped up by foreign recruiters faster than the local aviation industry could produce trained ones and replenish their pool.

The foreign air industries’ gain is certainly the Philippine’s loss. The dollar remittances that are supposed to result from this phenomenon would not be enough to repair the damage to the Philippine industry that serves both local and foreign airline needs.

Key players in the aviation industry have written Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas to stress that ``(i)f the current exodus of these highly skilled mission critical staff continues, the impact on the operations of the local aviation industry as well as the subsequent loss of the sector’s contribution to the national economy would be severe and irreparable.’’

``It takes about P14 million to produce a full-fledged pilot,’’ Lamberte told the Inquirer. PAL has 419 pilots and runs an aviation training school.

Lamberte explained why foreign airlines could offer Filipino recruits higher pay. ``First, they don’t have to spend for training. Second, they don’t have to wait seven to 10 years to produce a pilot. You need so many flying hours to become a captain or co-captain.’’

In other words, the making of an airline captain cannot be fast-tracked. Flying is a highly regulated profession. A pilot should fly only up to 1,000 hours a year.

Lufthansa Technik Philippines consultant Enzo Ziga said that aircraft mechanics would also be in demand. It takes five to six years and P3 million to train an aircraft mechanic A.``There are about 1,700 aircraft mechanics in the industry and this number is not enough,’’ Ziga added.

The Philippine State College of Aeronautics, supposedly the country’s training ground for aviation needs upgrading. It is the private aviation industry that has so far been carrying the costly burden of training.

According to air industry statistics, the industry provides employment for about 27,000 Filipinos. It serves 31 international and 21 domestic destinations and another 200 routes for non-scheduled carriers. It flies 22,500 passengers and around 500 tons of cargo everyday.

Among the key players that have made the Philippines the regional hub for maintenance and repair are Lufthansa Technik Phils., Aviation Plus and Miascor. At least 15,000 are employed in this sector.

With global passenger traffic increasing at five percent yearly until 2023, the projected number of new aircraft would be 16,601 worldwide.

Singapore is in need of 767 airline mechanics and 50 junior mechanics. Saudi Arabia needs 73. These are active job orders with the POEA. Also being hired are painters, planners, ticketers and airport representatives. Cabin crew hiring is also increasing. A Middle East airline is said to be hiring 1,000 per year and the target is 12,000 by 2012.

Here at home, the air transport industry will be requiring more planes for the local carriers in the next five years.

Although there is a glut in pilots in the US, Lamberte said the airlines of the Middle East are not likely to look in that direction. Filipinos are a top choice. When proficiency in English becomes an enforced prerequisite in 2008, there will be an increased demand for Filipinos.

So what does the industry propose? That the government ``consider a ban on the overseas deployment of the said occupations and skills in pursuit of the national interest for a period of three to five years, effective immediately.’’

The ban will give the domestic aviation industry ``a breathing space that should allow current interventions…such as aggressive manpower training programs to provide a buffer when the time to lift the deployment ban comes.’’

At present, the industry players said, ``the exodus far outpaces whatever efforts are taken by the industry both in training replacements since there is a long lead time involved.’’

Last January, Rep. Roseller Barinaga filed a resolution asking both the executive and legislative departments to support the proposed temporary ban.

Mayday! Mayday!

Rest for the Visayan Sea

While politicians are talking about restiveness, restlessness and unrest in the political front, those concerned about the environment are talking rest.

A group that calls itself the Visayan Sea Squadron is asking the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to give the Visayan Sea a rest, declare a closed season and determine areas available only for certain types of fishing.

Mayors have also petitioned the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to declare the entire area closed to commercial fishing vessels (three tons and above). These local officials also asked the DENR to work for the declaration of the Visayan Sea as a Unesco World Heritage Site for marine biodiveristy.

According to the Visayan Sea Squadron, an outreach program of the Law of Nature Foundation, the Visayan Sea has an area of about one million hectares. It is ``at the apex of the fabled Visayan Marine Triangle which lies at the very heart of the Sulu-Sulawesi Eco-region.’’

The way this triangle is being described makes one imagine a fantastic water wonderland that exists only in tales of yore. But no, this region is still alive, even if now threatened by depletion and destruction.

The Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Triangle, which covers a wide swath from the Philippines to Indonesia, is supposed to be the richest marine eco-region in the world and is home to the largest variety of marine life—fishes, coral, sea grasses, etc., in the whole world.



In the bosom of the Sulu-Sulawesi Triangle is the Visayan Marine Triangle found in Central Philippines. It is ``the center of the center, the beating heart of marine biodiversity on Earth. At the apex (of this Visayan triangle) is the Visayan Sea, once so rich and seemingly limitless in marine life abundance it was described as the Alaska of the Philippines. If carefully managed, the Visayan Sea alone can feed the entire Filipino people the whole year round.’’

There are 12 eco-regions within this Sulu-Sulawesi area. Two are in Indonesia, 1 is in Malaysia, but according to environment lawyer Tony Oposa, God blessed the Philippines with the balance of nine of the richest marine waters in the world. A scientific finding, he said, identified the Philippine Sea as the ``epicenter’’ of marine bioversity on Earth.

According to Oposa, the Philippine Sea is home to the greatest number and variety of coral reefs and underwater forests. Of the 700 or so coral species found in the whole world, 500 are in the Philippines. A single coral garden dive site in Anilao, Batangas and a single marine sanctuary in Bantayan Island in Cebu, both with a total area of 10 hectares have more variety of corals than what could be found in the entire Carribean put together.

The Visayan Sea has undergone massive, unregulated, destructive fishing activities that degraded its ecological richness. Some species of fish are supposedly facing extinction.

And so the plea from the NGOs and local officials mainly from Iloilo, Negros and Cebu. Those who signed the petition and resolution pledged to participate and cooperate with one another in self-assessment for environmental compliance audit, total eradication of illegal and destructive fishing and identify main areas of interest. They also asked that a Philippine Navy gunboat be permanently assigned in the triangle.

The letter of the Visayan Sea Squadron legal enforcement team headed by Gloria Estenzo Ramos to DENR and the Department of Agriculture said that because of the Visayan Sea’s degraded condition, it should be made to ``rest’’ and ``recuperate’’ from intensive fishing activities, especially by vessels weighing more than three gross tons (as cited in the Fisheries Code or Republic Act 8550).

The plea is based on the legal provision which states that ``The Secretary may declare a closed season in any Philippine waters (lying) outside the boundary of municipal waters for conservation and ecological purposes.

During this closed season, these government agencies should determine the maximum sustainable yield of the Visayan Sea and determine areas available for certain types of fishing. Fishing permits should then be issued based on area and on maximum sustainable yield pursuant to the Fisheries Code.

The Code clearly states that ``The Department of Agriculture shall issue such number of licenses and permits for fishery activities subject to the limits of the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Preference shall be given to resource users in the local communities adjacent or nearest to the municipal waters.’’

This provision, Oposa said, seems to have languished in the sickbed of non-compliance, and it is time to tickle it into action.

From March 19 to June 24 this year, the Visayan Sea Squadron will do a marine survey of municipal waters. BFAR directors of Regions 5, 6 and 7 have reportedly cooperated.

Here on dry land, we await with eagerness the Earth Day celebration that has the participation of newly installed cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, archbishop of Manila. Rosales has distanced himself from the political arena to which a number of his fellow bishops have been drawn. This ``greenie’’ red hat who is not exactly a greenhorn, would rather concentrate on resurrecting the earth than be drawn into politics.

Earth Day is on April 22, the Saturday after Easter. The theme ``Mea Culpa: A Call for Repentance and Atonement’’ sounds lenten to me but Odette Alcantara of Mother Earth-Philippines explained that it leads to hope and resurrection. What better venue for the celebration than Smokey Mountain, a garbage dump no more.

PCIJ under siege

At the senate hearing last Tuesday Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) executive director Sheila Coronel and Daily Tribune editor Ninez Cacho Olivarez gave testimonies on harassment and curtailment of media freedom that media organizations have experienced in the past days.

Sen. Arroyo, woefully paraphrasing Benjamin Franklin, said, ``Those who want to destroy the freedom of nations will have to start with the freedom of the press.’’

Clashing with the generals during the martial law years wasn’t so bad after all, I said to Sheila and she agreed. At least we knew the enemy then, we knew their names and their faces. But tangling now with those who operate in the shadows is something else. You have to watch your back.

So many media practitioners have died in the hands of such elements in the past couple of years. The recent government attempts to threaten and harass the media serve to embolden those with shady intentions.

Excerpts from Sheila’s opening statement at the Senate illustrate this.

``Late (last Monday afternoon), three members of the Central Police District, accompanied by sound engineer Jonathan Tiongco, asked a Quezon City judge to issue a warrant that will allow the police to search the office of the PCIJ, apparently in connection with a charge of inciting to sedition.



``The PCIJ received confirmation of the application from well-placed sources in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) and the Quezon City Police. Court and police sources say that an earlier application for a search warrant was turned down last Friday by another Quezon City judge. This apparently prompted the police and Tiongco to apply today for a search warrant with another judge, Alan Balot of RTC Branch 76.

``Alerted by the PCIJ, journalists from various media organizations waited outside Balot’s office while the hearing for the search warrant, which began at about 4:30 p.m., lasted past office closing hours… The judge emerged from his office at about 5:30 p.m., but refused to talk to reporters. Interviewed by GMA-7 reporter Sandra Aguinaldo, Tiongco only said that the hearing had been cancelled. The clerk of court, meanwhile, told Aguinaldo that there was no hearing, only an application for a search warrant…

``The PCIJ was unable to get a copy of the charge sheet, but its lawyers believe that the case is linked to the one filed by Tiongco against the PCIJ late last year. In that case, filed before the Department of Justice, Tiongco said that the PCIJ should be charged with “inciting to sedition” for posting on (its) blog the “Hello, Garci” recording containing the allegedly wiretapped conversations between former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and several officials, including possibly President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

``In that petition, which was ignored by the justice department, Tiongco alleged that the posting of the audio recordings led the opposition to call for the president’s resignation and impeachment and encouraged civil society groups to hold rallies against the president.

``Since the last quarter of 2005, Tiongco and his wife Rona have filed two libel cases against the PCIJ for publishing on (the PCIJ) blog extracts of a police dossier that lists a string of criminal cases filed against him. Rona Tiongco has also sued the PCIJ for violation of her right to privacy. In addition, Jonathan Tiongco has filed a falsification charge against the Center. He also asked, but failed, to get the Supreme Court to issue an injunction against the posting of the “Hello, Garci” recording on the PCIJ blog. Tiongco has also sued ABS-CBN for libel, wiretapping and falsification.

``On Nov. 4, Quezon City Judge Ralph S. Lee issued a 20-day temporary restraining order on the PCIJ blog on the request of Rona Tiongco, who said that the Aug. 12, 2005 post on her husband violated her privacy and that of her children. Mrs. Tiongco, however, was never mentioned by name in that post.

``Jonathan Tiongco has been linked to Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor, who presented the sound engineer in a press conference last Aug. 12, in a bid to question the authenticity of the “Hello, Garci” recording. In a telephone interview with the PCIJ (last Monday), Defensor denied any knowledge of the search warrant against PCIJ.

```There are certain media personalities against whom cases of inciting to sedition will be filed,” he said, but “PCIJ is not one of them.” He said that the only relationship he had with Tiongco was that press conference last year. “I want this clear, we’re not together politically,” he said. “He is more aligned with the opposition. He even filed cases against (former police chief Hermogenes) Ebdane and (former Cabinet secretary and chief of staff Angelo) Reyes.”

``When asked whether an inciting to sedition charge ought to be filed against the PCIJ for posting the wiretapped recordings, Defensor said, “I was the one who said it’s no use stopping the release of the Garci tape.”

``In an Oct. 11, 2005 ruling, the Supreme Court threw out Tiongco’s petition demanding that the PCIJ take down the "Hello, Garci" recording from (its) blog. The high tribunal asserted that the constitutional right to free expression was paramount. "Free expression is guaranteed by the Constitution," the Supreme Court said. " Any deviation from this rule through judicial restraint can only be had after a proper trial of facts."

``The Supreme Court also described Tiongco’s petition as "barely comprehensible" and "bereft of merit…’’’

When the search warrant is served (today?) and the search is carried out I will be present as a member of the PCIJ board. But what is it that the searchers hope to find?

OFW: From belly of the ship to top deck

Philippine Daily Inquirer/FEATURES/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

FROM BOILER room to ballroom, from stage to spa, from poolside to pantry, from bar to fine dining. From the belly of the luxury ship to the topmost deck where one could see forever and behold the azure sea and sky of the Mediterranean.

Overseas Filipino workers (OFW) rule the roost, so to speak, aboard the cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas because of their sheer number and also because of their skills, talent, dependability and graciousness. Filipinos comprise about 60 percent of the 853-strong crew that is composed of 51 nationalities.

"Here I earn the combined salaries of four teachers and three security guards in the Philippines," reveals Jerry Dioneo, 36, who works in the dining section. Dioneo who hails from Silay City in Negros Occidental has been on the ship for about three years and is on his fourth contract. Only the Filipino nationals, Dioneo adds, are compelled to allot and remit 20 percent of their earnings to their folks back home. This is stipulated in their contracts.

And what is work like on cruise days? "Every day here is a Monday," Dioneo chirps as he replenishes the cornucopia of food for the guests.

Victoriano Camacho, 46, of Calamba, Laguna, has been with the cruise company for 16 years and is now the sous chef (assistant of the executive chef). He started out at the Nikko Hotel in Makati. Now he earns $2,600 a month.

$1.7 billion of the total $10.8 billion remitted by OFWs in 2005 came from the sea-based OFWs. The number of Filipino seafarers working abroad as of 2005, is about 250,000 or approximately 20 percent of the world's total.

White List

The rise in the number could be attributed to the inclusion of the Philippines in the International Maritime Organization?s ?White List? of 72 accredited countries. Being on the list means the country has continuously complied with the standards required for competent seafarers.

Being a Filipino seaman or seafarer does not necessarily mean working in cargo ships sailing drearily on a gray sea and being cooped up, fighting ennui until land appears on the horizon. A good number of the sea-based OFWs work in cruise ships. These luxury liners cater to vacation-bound, fun-loving, adventure-seeking humans, people who work hard and play hard, or who just want to be out of reach and listen to the music of the ocean, heeding the cruise logo catchphrase that says, "Get out there." One could also choose to get holed up in the ship?s library.

The three-year-old German-built Brilliance of the Seas belongs to a fleet of cruise ships of the Royal Caribbean International (RCI) that sails in Europe, North America and the Caribbean. It has a passenger capacity of 2,500.

The Filipino seamen and women working on board are there to help make good things happen. The job is demanding as cruises involve service, hospitality, food, fun, travel, safety and, most of all, people.

Earning from tips

Bar server Vergie Mompil, an education course graduate, has spent eight years working on several cruise ships. Her husband, Edwin Vicero also works in another cruise ship, Jewels of the Sea.

Those in food service are not paid the fixed salary rate that workers in other sections receive. Food and drink servers like Vergie receive only $50 per 12-day cruise but the tips (provided for in the bill) earn her about $1,000. Two cruises per month or more than ten cruises in a six-month contract mean a lot when remitted to the Philippines. ?After six months, we go on a two-month break,? Vergie adds.

Vergie is stationed at the bar in the main lobby ballroom at the foot of a luminous stairway where guests in formal wear linger to chat or dance to music provided mainly by?you guessed it?Filipino musicians.

Vergie and her husband have a three-year-old child who is being cared for by two aunts. The couple is building a home south of Manila and planning for a hardware store.

Not everyone is in the direct employ of RCI. Hoffman Roscano, 27, married, works as a photographer of a photo agency that operates aboard the ship. He and several photographers have their hands full during formal dinners and evening activities as well as land tours. During special occasions, they set up a mini studio where guests in their glittering ?Titanic? finery could go for a formal shoot. Guests snap up the photos the morning after. Roscano also receives commissions from the sales.

Better than 5-star salary

Karen del Carmen, in her 20s, works as a beauty therapist in the Brilliance Day Spa operated by an agency. A tourism graduate of a college in Bacolod, she had a work stint in a hotel in the Philippines after which she applied in a maritime agency. The spa company hired her and sent her to London for training.

"Better than a five-star salary," is how del Carmen describes what she earns. After every 12-day cruise she gets two days off. ?It?s fun working here,? she says as she looks up from her desk in the spa?s lavender-scented receiving area.

Nights are busy for the musicians who play in different venues aboard the ship. John Neri, 24, regales the night owls with violin music. As a child he studied music under a scholarship program for the musically gifted.

Neri met his wife in another cruise ship. Married for four years now, the couple is building a house in Kalookan City.

Oye como va

Although now US-based, Vicky Gallarde of Vicky and The Holding Company band still calls the Philippines home. It?s a rollicking night when the band plays for a crowd with itchy feet.

Vicky switches without a hitch from lusty "Amor, amor, amor" to a staccato "Oye como va" while husband Chris and the rest segue from rumba to disco beat. The band is a ship mainstay.

The couple has a room for two of their own at the crew quarters. The standard rooms for two for the crew have TVs and computers with e-mail capabilities. The Filipinos also have a daily two-page news digest called "Philippines Today." There is a bar as well as games and exercise facilities.

Edgardo Villarino, 42, studied music in the University of the Philippines and sang with the UP Concert Chorus. He is married with three kids. The Inquirer chanced upon Villarino playing soothing classic guitar music by the poolside.

He was in the Caribbean several months earlier and he remembers the day a hurricane blew around there. There are less "sea days" in the Mediterranean, he says, meaning, the ship docks often in tourist havens.

Selling the Philippines

On his fifth contract now, Villarino says their own families could enjoy cruise privileges when there is space available. And could the entertainers have some fun during the day? "If there are less than five guests using the pool, we could take a dip," Villarino says.

He dreams of cruises on Philippine waters that could rival those elsewhere. "We try to advertise the Philippines. Subic is so beautiful." He talks of an island in Haiti that Royal Caribbean had developed.

Great workers

Bill Brunkhorst, American cruise director who makes sure entertainment is at its peak, has only good words for the Filipinos. "They are so talented and they learn very quickly," he says. "They're great workers."

The Greek ship captain Michael Lachtaridis, a seasoned sea voyager who has been sailing the seas for 33 years says he has been working with Filipinos since the 1980s. "They get along well with other nationalities," he says. "They are very educated and they are a happy lot."

Whether it is instructing on wine tasting, giving beauty massages, serving at formal dinners, making omelets at the buffet breakfast, playing music, snapping photos amidst the Greek ruins, ensuring security and swiping cards at entry and exit points, disposing garbage or keeping staterooms clean, Filipino seamen and women are doing their best. And why not a Filipino guest chaplain or morgue attendant?

The least seen

The least seen but perhaps the most important because they make the ship sail the distances are those who work in the belly of the ship or the engine room. The lives of those on board are practically in the hands of these experts in ship engineering.

The Inquirer descended to the grime-free hard hat area and met some of the Filipinos there. Jessie Hervilla, Estefanio Joel, Steve Flores, Ramon Cerio, Percival Dilag and so many more. Chief Junior Engineer Rasmus Norling of Sweden has only high praises for the men who are seldom seen on deck.

But life for the OFWs on board these cruise ships is surely not problem-free, as life anywhere is not. Are the OFWs on these so-called floating four-star, five-star hotels better off than their counterparts in cargo ships and oil tankers? What lies beyond those glittering nights and sunny days at sea? What awaits them in their homeland? What awaits Edward Pampis, Joselito Benito, Cipertino Apil, Arlene Salon, Susan Gatmaitan, Arthur Pernia, Julius, Mijares, Juanito Embolori, Edwin Miranda, Enrico Sabido, Victor Amuyang, Ronaldo Carreon, Ernita Villanueva, George Tardo, Joselito Benito?

Don't they feel resentful when they see food and drink flowing endlessly, people having so much fun and spending so much money for this kind of voyage, while they work so hard to keep these people thrilled and while the pine for home?

"Oh no," says a food server without a tinge of resentment. "Many of them have worked hard too. And because of them we have our jobs. Someday we too could enjoy something like this."

This Inquirer reporter was a regular paying guest on this cruise. The ship sailed from Barcelona and back and stopped in several key places on the Mediterranean coasts of Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

The media fights back

Because of the recent political events the government has raised its iron hand and directed it toward the media as well. Are we the enemy?

As I write this, media groups and individuals are in court making a petition for certiorari, prohibition and declaratory relief. Time constraints prevented me from signing the petition but one of the media groups I am affiliated with signed as one of the petitioners.

The decision to file a petition was made after two meetings between the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and media practitioners. The contents of the petition were fully discussed with the parties concerned and substantial changes were made to ensure that the petition addressed the concerns of both print and broadcast journalists.

Rarely do journalists go to court for reasons connected with their work. Why did the media go to court? Here is a technical summary of the objectives. This could be very instructive for those who are not in the legal profession.



-To declare that the Executive Department, represented by the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of Justice, the Director General of the Philippine National Police, the Chairman of the National Telecommunications Commission and their officers, agents or other persons acting under their authority or supervision, have no lawful power, authority or jurisdiction to prohibit the publication or airing of news and commentary based upon its contents.

Only a court, with its accompanying due process safeguards, may impose content-based prior restraints, when the grounds therefore are duly proved.

-To prohibit the Executive Secretary, the Philippine National Police, the Department of Justice, and the National Telecommunications Commission from imposing any form of content-based prior restraint on the press, be it formal or informal, direct or in the form of disguised or thinly veiled threats of administrative sanction or criminal prosecution.

The threat of official intervention—in the form of administrative sanction or criminal prosecution—is just as damaging to a free press as the fact of it.

-To annul and set aside the issuances of the NTC that prohibit the press from airing or broadcasting news and commentary that, in the NTC's sole and unfettered discretion, are "subversive," which "tend" to propose or incite sedition or rebellion, or which constitute "rebellious/terrorist propaganda, comments, information, interviews and other similar or related materials."

NTC does not have any lawful power, authority or jurisdiction to prohibit these, much less judge what is subversive (when the crime of subversion has long been repealed), what merely "tends" to propose or incite sedition or rebellion (whatever that means to the NTC), and what constitutes "rebellious/terrorist propaganda, comments and the like (whatever that means to the NTC).

The dangers of un-reviewable administrative actions that impose prior restraints on the press are as ancient as dictators. The petitioners seek the intervention of the Court to stop the use of the strong arm of the law to exclude speech as protected by the Constitution.

The petition is not hinged on declaration of state of national emergency; hence lifting of Pres. Proc. 1017 does not in any way affect the nature and objectives of the petition.

The petitioners are media organizations, journalists and broadcasters, and members of the academe.

The respondents are Eduardo R. Ermita, Executive Secretary; Raul Gonzales, Secretary of Justice; Arturo Lomibao, Director General of the Philippine National Police; Ronald Olivar Solis, Chairman of the National Telecommunications Commission.

The venue is the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to hear petitions for declaratory relief.

FLAG has concerns over the current composition of Supreme Court, most of whose members were appointed by Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. FLAG also has concerns over the outcome of petitions challenging Pres. Proc. 1017.

As the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) explained, the petition asserts media's rights against any censorship or prior restraint that are protected under the Constitution. Whether Pres. Proc. 1017 has been lifted or not the petition proceeds. It holds executive officials Ermita, Lomibao, Solis and Gonzalezresponsible for pronouncements and issuances that seek to impose restrictions on the media.

The petition asserts that "only a court, with its accompanying due process safeguards, may impose content-based prior restraints." The petitioners therefore ask the court to prohibit the officials mentioned from "imposing any form of content-based prior restraint on the press, be it formal or informal, direct or in the form of disguised or thinly veiled threats of administrative sanction or criminal prosecution."

Only the courts, after due process, and not any executive agency, have the right to impose restrictions on media content.

CMFR and other media groups like the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, the Philippine Press Institute, and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines signed as corporate entities. Other media groups and individuals journalists have joined in the battle.

All are one in saying, ``Never again.’’

When media women fought back

The present government that is tinkering with media freedom should learn a few lessons from the 1983 case of women journalists versus military officers filed before the Supreme Court.

The military’s dreaded and intimidating moves at that time against seven women journalists, including myself, may have created a temporary chilling effect but it did not prevent us from making bold moves to make sure it was not going to be done ever again to us or to anyone.

On Feb. 1, 1983, braving martial rule, 23 of us women writers and six male colleagues filed a ``petition for prohibition with preliminary injunction’’ with the Supreme Court. This was to stop the military’s National Intelligence Board (NIB) Special Committee No. 2 from harassing media practitioners and violating our right to freedom of expression and right to remain silent.

Named respondents were retired Brig. Gen. Wilfredo Estrada, Colonels Renato Ecarma, Balbino Diego, Galileo Kintanar, Hermogenes Peralta, Vicente Tigas, Maj. Eleanor Bernardino and NBI Asst. Director Ponciano Fernando—all of NIB No. 2.

A sudden creation of the dreaded Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Fabian Ver, the NIB was composed of high-ranking military officials tasked to ``invite’’ and interrogate the women journalists whom they thought had written unflattering and damaging articles against the Marcos dictatorship.



Those invited for questioning were Arlene Babst, Jo-Ann Q. Maglipon, Ninez Cacho-Olivares, Lorna Kalaw-Tirol, Domini Torrevillas-Suarez, Eggie Apostol and myself. Jo-Anne, Domini, Lorna and I were then writing for the Panorama Magazine while Ninez and Arlene were columnists of the Bulettin Today. Tita Eggie was publisher of Mr. & Ms. Magazine.

The military invitation asked us to appear before the NIB in order to ``to shed light on confidential matters being looked into by this committee.’’ The last paragraph threatened: ``Your failure to appear on a specified date and place shall be considered as waiver on your part and this committee will be constrained to proceed in accordance with law.’’

We were interrogated one at a time by a group composed mostly of military officers. The closed-door interrogations were done at a Fort Bonifacio hall and lasted for hours at a time. We were questioned about our motives for writing, writing fees, even our religious faith and upbringing. The military tried to cast aspersions on our motives and to link us to subversive elements.

I was questioned on my magazine feature article on military abuses in Bataan, Maglipon was questioned on her article on military abuses in Mindanao. This was the second interrogation for me, having been previously made to appear, interrogated and chastised (in a packed open hall) by Deputy Defense Secretary Carmelo Barbero on another magazine article about a Kalinga chief killed by soldiers.

(The ``subversive’’ articles, excerpts of the proceedings and other pertinent details are in ``Philippine Press Under Siege’’ Vols. 1 and 2.)

Refusing to be intimidated, we banded together and called on our media colleagues. Twenty eight journalists—23 women and five men—aided by 13 lawyers led by former senator Lorenzo Tanada, Joker Arroyo and law professor Perfecto Fernandez—went to the SC to put a stop to the intimidating interrogations.

Here are excerpts from our arguments. (Pardon the legalese.)``(The military) interrogations imposed prior restraint…in violation of constitutional guarantees on freedom expression; in the course of said interrogations, (the military) respondents communicated emphatically to the petitioners questioned by them, the publications that are objectionable, with specification of the subjects, manner of presentation, and tenor of language, that respondents disapprove of, thereby imposing guidelines and norms to be adhered to by (media) petitioners, apart from and in addition to the norms prescribed by law.’’

We further argued that the interrogations created a climate of fear and a chilling effect on the practice of journalism. We added that this could result in `` curtailment of the free flow of information and opinion, indispensable to the fundamental right of the people to know all matters of public concern’’ guaranteed in the Constitution.

``Political liberty is thus jeopardized, for…the foundation of intelligent political decisions by the people, in the exercise of their right to self-government, is free access to knowledge or information relevant to the matters for decision.’’

The interrogations also ``constituted unlawful incursions or intrusions into spheres of individual liberty and free choice, in violation of constitutional guarantees in the Bill of Rights…’’

Arguing for the government, Solicitor Estelito Mendoza tried to play things down by declaring that the petition was ``moot and academic’’ as Estrada had ordered that the NIB No. 2 be terminated as he ``was satisfied with the results.’’

Mendoza poo-poohed our complaint by saying ``all that has taken place is plain conversation, interchange of ideas, opinions, perhaps biases and preferences. But there is no charge against, nor any complaint of whatever nature involving the petitioners.’’ Oh yeah?

A few months later, editor Torrevillas-Suarez and I faced a P10-million libel suit filed by Brig. Gen. Artemio Tadiar who claimed he was maligned but who was not even mentioned in my Bataan article. We had a battery of lawyers, among them, Joker Arroyo, Saklolo Leano and Rene Saguisag. The case was dropped in 1986.)
The Marcos military was not about to back off. But the media women were bold, if not as bold as ever, helping set the stage for the dictatorship’s eventual downfall.#