Still scared of Erap

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

12/02/2008

I hear that the Court of Appeals (CA) wants Joseph Estrada’s biographical video documentary to first acknowledge the legitimacy of Gloria Arroyo’s presidency before it can be shown on television, and for a moment, I think, hey. Not even the CA bench is sure who the rightful leader of the country is, and that’s why it needs the Erap video to tell them!

Don’t think I’m being odd. Right now there’s nothing odder than the court requirement to edit into Ang Mabuhay Para sa Masa the recognition of “the legality of the power shift” that was Edsa Dos. The addition completely changes the tenor of the docu from when it was originally conceived and put together three years ago, at the time the subject was still in Tanay. It also tells us just how much this administration continues to be afraid of the man it kicked out of power in the name of morality, only to find out that — well, you all know what’s been found out about the one installed, no matter the times she and her cabal deny their thievery.

The value of Ang Mabuhay Para sa Masa as a historical document cannot be dismissed by even those who disagree with what it says. It was produced, written and directed from a point of view that is decidedly not Gloria Arroyo’s, nor that of any from her side of the fence, so it’s hard to understand why the CA and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) want it redone as if it were produced, written and directed by Malacañang.

Government has access to media such as no one else has. In 2005, soon after then Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye made a fool of himself declaring which of the two CD’s in his hands was fake, the Pasig River Mafia threatened, through the National Telecommunications Commission, to close media outlets caught broadcasting the “Hello Garci” recordings. This is how powerful Mrs. Arroyo is, and still her men insist on re-editing the Erap video to remind all and sundry who the boss is?

The CA order for revision, says producer Rey David of Public Perception Management Asia (PublikAsia), is “a directive to rewrite not just a script but an entire portion of Philippine history,” because “everything in the newsreel can be verified in historical documents and even news reports. Therefore I find it odd that we are being compelled to revise certain portions of the film when there was nothing invented or fictional in it.”

To remind you, Ang Mabuhay Para sa Masa is a chronological depiction of Estrada’s life, from his early years as an actor and his initial entry into politics as Mayor of San Juan, all the way to post-Malacanang, from film and video footages culled from all over.

The docu was first screened by the MTRCB sometime in August of 2006 by a First Review Committee composed of Gregorio Cendana, Lucia Orense and Herminio Bautista. It was only Cendana who approved to air the docu; he died within days, of a heart attack.

The Second Review Committee was composed of Paulino Cases Jr., Fr. Nick Cruz, journalists Edmund Sicam, Ros Olgado and Mario Hernando. Hernando OK’d the material; his companions “x”-ed it. Explaining his vote to a broadsheet, Hernando was quoted to have said: “It may sound corny but I firmly believe that freedom of expression should be upheld. I am just standing by my principle.”

The same cannot be said of Orense, Bautista, Cases, Cruz, Sicam and Olgado, but mark their names. They’re sure to find a way to get reappointed to the MTRCB following a change of administration, pustahan, they will surely find a way to deny their role in suppressing the material. MTRCB members are only as liberal as whoever heads it; Bautista and Cases were not in my board, but at times Orense, Cruz, Olgado and Sicam I could have sworn were more liberal than I.

They found “objectionable” scenes in the Erap docu that “(1) tend to threaten the political stability of the State; (2) tend to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in the Government; (3) are libelous or defamatory to the good name of persons; and (4) pertain to matters that are subjudice in nature.”

Sicam went further to insist that what actually “tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in the government” is the voice-over narrative that goes “nalalapit na ang bagong umaga dahil sa lakas ng puwersa ng masa at muli nang babangon.” How in the world he thought this, you’ve got to ask him yourself, as I haven’t the slightest inclination to talk to him again, ever.

The MTRCB double “X” was in 2006, when Erap was still incarcerated. The recent CA ruling on the docu still stems from the MTRCB verdict, after the Appeals Committee under the Office of the President made a “bakla” decision and “approved” it in January of 2007, but only if after certain changes were made. Certain portions were to be removed, “some kind of balancing” factor was to be edited in by the docu’s makers, wherein those hit, or “libeled” were allowed to reply. The committee also held that the docu could only be aired in its entirety only after the resolution of the graft charges against the former president, as it discussed his then pending plunder case, and therefore subjudice.

Erap has since then been released and “pardoned.” Despite the “pardon,” points out Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, spokesman of Estrada’s political party Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), it’s as if “President Estrada still appears to be the victim of political persecution. Certain factions still want the public to regard him as a flashpoint for turmoil when in fact he has never been a clear and present danger to government or society in general. In fact, President Estrada has always called for peaceful resolutions to national issues, consistently pointing out that it is always the poor who suffer the most from political turmoil.”

Rodriguez says the battle isn’t over; PMP is waiting for a copy of the court decision and from there plan its next move. “We are prepared to exhaust all legal measures to protect our freedom of expression and to inform the public about everything that happened during one of the most important chapters of our history.”

The 13-page decision lists those who “conspired” against Erap. What’s funny is that some of the listed have since then jumped ship and regretted what they’ve done, because ano pa nga ba, kundi nagsipagsisi na?

No wonder the hooligans in office are still scared of Erap. Bully for the PMP!

(For comments, write to: armida114@yahoo.com)

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