The Duterte-Panelo “talk show” yesterday at Malacañan Palace did not
address what workers and the poor desire to hear from the President: tangible
solutions to the rising prices of rice and other basic commodities that have impacted
negatively on income and the cost of living.
Worse, the President blamed workers strikes for lack of foreign
investors. It is such a lame excuse. Investors invest in a country primarily
because of profitability and political stability. Moreover, a strike—though a
guaranteed workers’ right under the Constitution—is highly regulated by the
government. Thus it will not be a major factor to affect the country’s
stability and employers’ profitability. In most cases, a strike occurs because
of employers’ unfair labor practices and the deprivation of workers’ just share
in the fruits of their labor.
The “talk show” was primarily designed to strike back against Trillanes—
laying the ground for the government to make the arrest after the Supreme Court
referred the latter’s case to the Makati regional trial court. The address was
not about arresting problems brought about by runaway inflation.
Moreover, the “talk show” tried to sow fear in the public’s mind based
on an imagined destabilization plot against his government. The President by
“selling hard” his theory of destabilization plot has exposed his real aim of
“an authoritarian rule” in order to effectively govern the country.
We rate the “talk show” as “SPG”: striktong propaganda ng gobyerno.
Indeed, as many media practitioners lament: an interview done to a government
official by another government official is pure propaganda.
12 September 2018
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