I Am Blogie

The Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) organized last 26-27 November in Davao City a forum for government, media and citizen communicators, for peace initiatives in Mindanao. This was done through Medco’s Mindanao Information Network for Development and Peace, or MINDPeace.

It was a well-represented group of concerned parties: there were delegates from mainstream media, non-traditional media outfits such as Mindanao Film & Television Development Foundation, government agencies, the Armed Forces, and from church and civic organizations. The objectives centered around how various entities communicated “Mindanao” to the rest of the world, and what could be achieved to improve this. Much like what was accomplished — or tried to — at Media Nation a few years back. But this time, the initiative came from Mindanaoans.

Supported by the Action for Conflict Transformation (ACT) for Peace Programme, the forum is also seen as a knowledge-sharing venue expected to gather communication practitioners of the various development programs in Mindanao and partner organizations working for Mindanao peace and development, as well as representatives of alternative media, such as bloggers and filmmakers in Mindanao.
(Source: Medco)

I was able to present the purpose and goals of the Mindanao Bloggers Community, and to interface with other organizations, such as Click Mindanao and the Young Moro Professionals Network for possible sharing of ideas and cooperation in joint projects in the foreseeable future.

Although the forum had been in the pipeline for sometime, it came at the heels of the Maguindanao massacre. And it was timely in that it addressed a pressing need to educate the rest of the nation’s communicators in the way they reported on Mindanao issues. In my view, I saw a somewhat more responsible national media — although there were hiccups, such as when a popular broadsheet printed “the lawless Mindanao island” — in its reportage of the mass murders in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

If the forum participants strive to forge on and see the goals through, the MINDPeace forum can be instrumental in influencing the way Mindanao is perceived from now on. There is a very big danger that the efforts of the MB Community and other like-minded groups in presenting a more holistic view of Mindanao, will go down the drain due to the senseless and deplorable crime committed in Maguindanao Province. But if we persevere, we’ll have a good chance of preventing another mass misconception of Mindanao’s image.

But more than that, the communicators’ forum was meant to be a significant contributing factor “to the ongoing formulation of the Mindanao 2020 Peace and Development Framework Plan, with emphasis on the role of media and communication, to setting the direction for Mindanao in the next decade.”

The MB Community, for its part, will certainly contribute actively to this effort towards peace and development in Mindanao.

The Department of Tourism – Region 11 (DOT-11) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts last Wednesday & Thursday held the Mindanao Media Summit on Culture and Tourism in Davao City. MindanaoBloggers.com was invited to be part of this occasion, and I was asked to be one of the reactors.

The presentations by leaders in the media and tourism fields gave us a sense of what’s being done presently by both government and the private sector to promote tourism and culture in Mindanao. Davao City Tourism Operations Officer Bong Aportadera and Regional Director Sonia Garcia of DOT-11 apprised us of the two simultaneous programs for the city and the region, respectively. For the city, the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) is championing the DaWOW! concept. It’s a holistic program that deserves to be pushed to the forefront of all tourism-related activities in Davao. Below is the presentation by Mr. Aportadera.

DOT-11, for their part, is keen on encouraging the various regions to identify special-interest destinations which would receive special focus for promotions and development purposes. DOT-11 is mandated to take care of the Davao Region: Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental.

The summit was not all about what is or what should be. It was actually more of what we can and will do. Mr. Aportadera and Ms. Garcia discussed plans of action for the tourism industry, and appealed to media to help spread the word.

This summit also reminded me of MediaNation5.2, where media industry bigwigs discussed the Mindanao issue. At the Mindanao Media Summit, the discussions were more specific, and more ground-level. Media practitioners and tourism professionals from many parts of the island aired their views on the current state of local tourism and what they felt had to be done to help improve the current numbers.

It was rather disappointing, however, that the representative of national media, Mr. Fred Gabot, did not at all deliver on what he was supposed to talk about. His presentation was supposed to be on the role of national media in promoting Mindanao tourism. Instead, he attempted to give insights on what tourism in Mindanao is all about — something that Mindanaoans are aware of already. He also tried to get away with blaming local media for not doing enough to generate publicity for the island, ergo, national media could not provide column space / airtime for Mindanao news.

Wrong. At MediaNation5.2, influential media personalities in Metro Manila already admitted that Mindanao is not given enough column space or airtime because news emanating from the Philippine South was “not sexy”. But don’t get me wrong: these top-level people from national media were there in Tagaytay last August to help solve the Mindanao news issue. But the fact is, this isn’t a chicken-and-egg question.

Local media outfits do generate tons of content to help promote the island, and they are sensitive about portraying Mindanao incorrectly. However, it is national media that’s culpable in the misrepresentation of what’s truly going on in the South. For example, a local mediaman in Davao told the summit audience of one of his experiences with a Manila-based editor. He had written about the bombing of a bus in Digos; the bus was en route from Davao City. His editor changed the title of his piece to ‘Davao bus bombed‘. Why? Presumably because mainstream media thinks nobody in Metro Manila knows where Digos City is.

Then, in reiterating the importance of peace in Mindanao, the speaker flippantly voiced out his opinion about the “Christian-Muslim” conflict, that “our Muslim brothers should learn” about peace. There was a collective gasp in the audience when Mr. Gabot said this. Such glib statements are very irresponsible, and that was pointed out to him during my reaction. This goes to show how many people outside of Mindanao are grossly unaware of the real interactions and relationships among Mindanaoans.

Fortunately, Mr. Gabot did get one thing right. He encouraged the summit participants to consider the Internet as the next medium of communication. And this is true. Through the Internet, local media can bypass insensitive editors in Metro Manila.

The first day of the summit ended with all stakeholders in media and tourism signing a Manifesto of Support, which reads:

I recognize the importance of media, peace, culture and tourism in contributing to the improvement of the collective efforts and psyche of a people in promoting peace. In light of these trying times, I will endeavor to play an active role in promoting the diverse attractions and rich traditions of Mindanao and the rest of the nation.

I am cognizant of my professional and personal capacity to commit to help in the betterment of Mindanao, and I will use these gifts to speak the truth against biases and negative perceptions. I shall support efforts to promote true and lasting peace, and an appreciation and understanding for the intrinsic and unique culture of Mindanao.

By signing this manifesto, I acknowledge that every citizen can and must speak for truth, peace, culture and tourism. And I acknowledge that it can begin with me.

So help me God.

I signed this manifesto as the convenor of the MindanaoBloggers community. I am pleased to report that our group (as well as the concept of blogging) is now gaining ground in establishing a foothold on society as the emerging form of media.