STATEMENT: OUR BIAS IS FOR THE TRUTH

DURING the 16-day police-KOJC standoff inside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound here in Davao City, we witnessed how disinformation, half-truths, and lies spread like wildfire on social media, even before we could bat an eye and check where they came from and verify.

Those who covered the standoff experienced verbal abuse, threats, harassments, intimidation, and humiliation from members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) who insisted that their version of the incidents is the only version that the media should report on.

We experienced being bullied or cajoled and used by one party of the conflict to outsmart another. We documented these incidents of harassments and even went to the police for the blotter.

We are aware of where this disinformation came from: they came from interest groups who wanted to control the narrative by manipulating the media. In their bid to control the narrative, they harassed and threatened us when we wrote or broadcast stories that did not match or follow their storyline.

We want to send these people a message: It is not our role to carry your propaganda line or push your own agenda.

Our role is to deliver timely, relevant, accurate information to the public, information that will allow them to take part meaningfully as citizens in a functioning democracy.

Do not expect us to accept hook, line, and sinker whatever it is you tell us. As journalists, verification is our discipline. We verify, we countercheck, and we seek various sources to try as best as we can to ferret out the Truth.

Councilor Bonz Militar, you are barking up the wrong tree. As chair of the Committee on Information and Technology,  you know who the sources of disinformation are.

Let us in the media do our job and if you truly care about the public good, it would do well for the City Council to help foster an environment where journalists can perform their duties without the constant threat of intimidation, harassment, or other forms of attacks.

It is essential to recognize that crafting a safe and supportive space for journalists to report freely and accurately is critical to ensuring the integrity of the information that reaches the public.

Despite those extremely difficult circumstances from August 24 to September 8, journalists who reported from the field and the news desks that vetted their stories, were unfazed because of our adherence to the essential principles and practices of journalism, our Code of Ethics, and our respective editorial policies.

As Kovach and Rosentsiel say, our first obligation as journalists is to the Truth and our first loyalty is to the Citizens.

Our bias is for the Truth.

We urge all parties to be transparent with the facts and to respect the media’s independence to report beyond the narratives they wish to promote.

We call on our colleagues in the media to join forces in confronting disinformation and to always be on the alert against those who aim to manipulate the Truth.

We believe that an unchained press is the bedrock of a peaceful and robust Davao City.

16 September 2024

CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS/ Special Reports Editor, MindaNews/ chair, DCMCC; AMALIA B. CABUSAO/ Editor-in-Chief, Mindanao Times; CRISTINA E. ALIVIO/ Editor-in-Chief, SunStar Davao; NEIL BRAVO/ Editor-in-Chief, Edge Davao; EDITHA Z. CADUAYA/ Publisher, Newsline Philippines/ President, MIPC; PAUL PALACIO/ News Chief, Newsline Philippines; CHE PALICTE, Regional Head, Philippine News Agency; VINA ARANETA-PILAPIL, Head, News Operations and Administration, PTV Davao/Mindanao Media Hub; BOBBY TIMONERA/ Editor-in-Chief, MindaNews; RYAN ROSAURO/Chief, Philippine Daily Inquirer Mindanao Bureau; HERNEL TOCMO/ Davao Regional Correspondent, ABS-CBN News; GERMELINA LACORTE/ Desk Editor, Philippine Daily Inquirer; JOSELLE BADILLA/ Editorial Assistant, Philippine Daily Inquirer; PATMEI BELLO RUIVIVAR, Columnist, Mindanao Times; KATH CORTEZ/ Reporter, Davao Today; TY VELEZ/ Davao Today; LUCELLE BONZO/ Davao Today;   MARILOU AGUIRRE-TUBURAN/ Davao Today; DANILO ADORADOR/ Board Member, MIPC; EUGENE DANGO/ Cameraman, Newsline Philippines; EUGENE HINUTAN/ Reporter, Newsline Philippines; ANTONIO L. COLINA IV/Reporter, MindaNews; MANMAN DEJETO / Photojournalist, MindaNews; IAN CARL ESPINOSA/Reporter, MindaNews; TOTO LOZANO / Photojournalist, MindaNews; ROJEAN GRACE PATUMBON/ Reporter, SunStar Davao; KARL BRYAN PORRAS, Reporter, SunStar Davao; RHODA GRACE SARON / Reporter, Mindanao Times; NOVA MAE FRANCAS/ Reporter, Mindanao Times; MAIMONA WANDA LAO/ Reporter, Mindanao Times; BING GONZALES/ Photojournalist, Mindanao Times; ARMANDO FENEQUITO/ Reporter, Radyo Pilipinas Davao;

DAVAO CITY MEDIA-CITIZENS COUNCIL (DCMCC); MINDANAO INDEPENDENT PRESS COUNCIL (MIPC); NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES (NUJP-Davao chapter)

*****

People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." Mark 7:37, NIV

Lord our God, you fill heaven and earth with your Spirit and allow us to share in your gifts. We thank you for all you have given us, for all you are giving and will give. We are poor and needy; all people are poor and needy in spite of their striving, longing, and seeking. Only you, through your Spirit, can awaken something in us to help us go toward your goal. Keep us from being caught up in what men do. The greatest help for our hearts is what you do, and each of us can tell something about it. Each of us has received help beyond anything we had hoped or thought of. How much you have done for us! How much you are doing for the nations! Yes, we thank you for this present time. Although our lives often seem hopeless and full of sorrow, your powers are still living among men, working for their good and awaking them to new life. The time will surely come when our hearts will be released from their hunger and we can be filled with the life from above, which you give us in Jesus Christ. Amen.