A foreign expert in international studies said Philippine media should not be pro-West of pro-East, but should have “more diversity.”
“So, I think the media organization in this country suffers too much from a legacy of being pro-western. They should not be pro-west or pro-east, but they should have a more diverse voice,” Dr. Dan Steinbock said during a media forum in Quezon City on Wednesday.
He added that, about a year ago, a news item was leaked to Philippine media that former Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg wrote a “blueprint to undermine President Duterte within 18 months.”
However, Steinbock noted that aside from one local daily, the story did not appear in any other newspapers, “if only to condemn it.”
“My bottom line is, there is a law in Philippine media ownership and possibly there are two or three that may not fulfill that level of ownership by the law.”
During the Philippine presidential campaigns in spring 2016, Goldberg sided visibly with anti-Duterte forces, which led to several high-profile confrontations.
It was not then the first time that Goldberg was associated with regime-change efforts. In 2008 President Evo Morales and the Bolivian government gave him three days to leave the country after declaring him persona non grata following Goldberg’s efforts to fund the opposition leaders, separatists and think tanks with millions of dollars through the USAID.
Yet, President Obama rewarded Goldberg by appointing him as the assistant secretary of state for Intelligence and Research, one of the 16 elements of the US Intelligence Community (IC). Thereafter, he was sent to the Philippines, which he left in less than three years after efforts to intervene with the elections.
Since many Filipinos were not aware of these developments in the newspapers, Steinbock said, “There’s a lot of people in this country that may or may not have a real voice, not just politically but also in terms of media.”
“I think the voice you have now in media is understandable due to the strength of its cooperation with the West. I have nothing against it, and I think you should unite those ties, but I think you should have more diversity,” he added.
The founder of Difference Group, Steinbock has served as research director at the India, China and America Institute (US) and visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore).
Steinbock added that other newspapers have their own legacies and every country has its own legacies and concerns, but he noted that some local newspapers “have been pro-western because [they have] been cooperating with western countries until now.”
“If you look at the current affairs programs in the country, one thing I have observed when people talk about China, they are usually local people talking about China or what China might be thinking. Not even think tanks representing China or Chinese ambassadors or Chinese authorities.”
In this guise, he said, there are a lot more people talking about China, but not Chinese people talking about the Philippines.
“I think it’s really important to have real voice, not a sort of an indirect voice,” Steinbock added.
On the other hand, he noted that considering the average income of many Filipinos, he said, “In this country, the media serves primarily those who are rich, primarily because of economic reasons.”
Steinbock, however, forecasts the Philippines could become a bright spot in the global landscape if the government’s efforts on independent foreign policy and inclusive economic development can be achieved, “unless the campaign at regime change by foreign interests in cooperation with domestic political opposition prove successful.”