Rattled by Rappler; Prostituted by ambition

He may disapprove of what she says, but he should defend to the death her right to say it. That paraphrase of Voltaire could have guided Duterte’s treatment of Rappler’s Malacañang reporter Pia Rañada. But he chose pique and banned her from covering. Now even his supporters denounce his assault on press freedom. Ironic, for it was a free press that catapulted candidate Duterte in 2016 from obscurity to top name recall.

His spokesman says Duterte simply has had enough of Rañada’s “fake news.” One wonders what occupies the mind of those in the mightiest office in the land that they devote much effort on one reporter. They claim effectively to have proven Rappler’s news fakery in a nationally televised Senate hearing earlier this week. If so, then they could have just waited for the natural consequence of the news outlet’s lessened readership. But, no, they instead mustered state power to bar it. Other media outfits feel that they too could be banned if they fail to second-guess what the powerful want them to publish.

The fear is not unfounded. Rañada publicly was advised by the general of the presidential guards that she should be glad they didn’t harm her for insisting on entering Malacañang on the night her ban was decided.

The press is liberal as it is lively. It tolerates divergent takes on the same statement or event for that is free expression. Facts are sacred. But to label as “fake news” a view that differs from the official line is thought control. A society where everyone thinks alike will retrogress.

All that could be averted. Duterte has but to recall what he swore on June 30, 2016, to do: “...faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation.”

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Speaking of fake news, what would the spokesman say of Duterte’s announcing bogus account numbers of his arch-enemy-senator’s supposed secret bank deposits in Singapore?

What would he say about his past vigorous defense of civil liberties, now overshadowed by his frantic justification of a press ban? What would he say of his past defense too of women’s rights and the sanctity of life, now dimmed by his contortions?

He is beginning to sound absurd. A US intelligence report called Duterte a threat to democracy in Asia for hiding official police reports on his bloody war on drugs and his statements to declare a revolutionary government. To that he insists that democracy still is alive and well and never under strain.

Perhaps when he accomplishes his ambition in 2019 he would sit back and reflect on Mark 8:36, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

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A sample text blast to news radio shows Wednesday: “Huwag pag-abalahan ang pagbawal sa Rappler at reporter na mag-cover sa Malacañang. Marami naman ibang media groups na nagko-cover du’n.”

That’s how low paid trolls are pulling down the level of national discourse. “Troll” is so apt for their malignant ways. Thinking, caring Filipinos should resist such termites of culture. Millenniums of experience have brought humans to the present intellectual growth. Indifference would set us back.

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“This play has triggering sensitive material,” warns the Philippine Educational Theater Association. Watchers of “’Night, Mother” are encouraged to stay after the show for a 15-minute or so emotional decompression. Dialogue, acting, lighting, sets, music, and effects do trigger deep feeling, probably guilt, about dealings with loved ones.

It is just another night in the life of a widow and her daughter, a single mom. As usual, as they prepare for bed, they talk about their concerns, such as the daughter’s runaway delinquent son; their pet peeves, such as the nosy neighbors; and needs, such as a manicure. The night turns out to be very different, though, as they realize they’ve always been yakking but not conversing, internalizing, understanding. Something’s very wrong. Revealed on that night is the mind of a depressive contemplating suicide.

Eugene Domingo and Sherry Lara are at their acting best. Direction by Melvin Lee. Adapted from Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer- and Dramatists Guild-award winning play, with four Tony nominations and a film version starring Anne Bancroft and Sissy Spacek.

 Play dates: Fridays to Sundays, till Mar. 18, at the PETA Center, #5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, QC. For details, call PETA Marketing, (0927) 6035913, or check out www.petatheater.com/nightmother. Length: 84 minutes, no intermission.

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Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., DWIZ (882-AM).

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