Careful what you share

 WE forgive, but let’s not forget.

The news on Monday last week about the “mysterious flesh-eating disease” that is supposedly spreading in Pangasinan was not a hoax – what it was, was erroneous as a result of unverified, sensational reporting by the program Bandila of ABS-CBN Network. That is the most important lesson that we must always remember: responsible journalism. And that extends to the new breed of citizen-journalists who use the internet as their medium. Careful what you share, it just might not be true.

The other crucial lesson that we learned here is the value of vigilance. The speed with which information is shared online, especially on social media, nowadays keeps us constantly updated on developments and that should make us even more discerning on what is fed our minds. In the United Kingdom, for example, researchers are now developing a platform to automatically verify information from social media after all sorts of rumors came out of the London riots. While a campaign has now been launched to mend the negative impact of the wrong news about Pangasinan by promoting the province as an attractive tourism destination with no major health risks, local governments must now coordinate to monitor and act swiftly on similar reports in the face of the prediction by the Jesus Ministries founder Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj. Remember that what made the report even more astounding was that it was linked to Selvarag’s supposed prophecy that a grievous disease will spread all over the world and will consume the flesh of men and will pierce through the bones. He predicted that this disease will begin in Pangasinan, Philippines.

Doomsday tales always make for spectacular copy and there will be others who would want to spin such stories. And the public, including potential tourists to the province, could easily fall prey to unfounded news. We have to protect Pangasinan from such mad men.

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 Big fish

 THE question keeps cropping up:  Will Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla all go to jail for plunder?

The three are incumbent senators and are facing plunder charges arising from an accusation that they had pocketed people’s money by siphoning out their pork barrel funds to alleged fake entities like non-government organizations that do not actually exist. If we go by recent history, the three might yet be pinned down.  The so-called big fish is no longer safe, following Erap Estrada’s conviction of plunder some years back, followed by the ouster of Rene Corona as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a couple of years ago. And while it took Erap’s plunder case almost eight years to resolve after getting booted out by Edsa II in 2001, it took only less than a year for the Senate impeachment court to kick Corona out of office.

It may take some time, perhaps, before Enrile, Jinggoy and Revilla are haled to court, considering the slowness of our justice system all these time.  But the people will wait for that — if it should happen at all — with the eagerness of a beaver not wanting to miss all the drama when the trial is off and running.

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