Brothers and sisters, before the formal commencement of the Southeast Asian Games currently being held in our country, many controversies arose that revolved around the Philippines’s hosting of the said games, which was hoped to give honor to all Filipinos. Apart from the expensive kaldero monument that became controversial, some foreign and Filipino athletes complained about the inappropriate transportation and unfinished
facilities, and the lack of hotel reservations for them. There are also complaints about the quality and sufficiency of food given to the athletes that allegedly lack the nutrients they needed for the competitions.
With these rants and complaints, the government and the officials of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee tried to shift the blame to the opposition because of the late approval of the budget, and second, the media and journalists who are allegedly spreading “fake news” when they revealed the athletes’ complaints and the difficulties before the start of the SEA Games.
The first concern is the spread of wrong information, while the second is the suppression of press freedom, the pillar of a democratic society. It is not right to blame a senator from the opposition for the delays in the 2019 budget because, if we remember, it was in the middle of April when the President approved the national budget. Why was it that the approval of the national budget was severely delayed? If we recall the many previous statements and news during the first four months of this year, we will remember the reasons for the delay of the national budget, which are the congressional insertions for projects by lawmakers in Congress, after the approval of the Bicameral Conference Committee of the proposed national budget. Since this is against the Constitution, the senators objected to the insertions by some members of the House. It was right for these senators to question these inserted allocations because they violated the correct process of legislating a budget. Hence, the congressmen allied with the administration, and not the senators from the opposition, should be blamed for the delay in the approval of the budget.
Meanwhile, blaming journalists and telling them to only cover the good circumstances would violate the freedom of the press and the journalists’ duty to inform the people of the true events in our country, including the complaints adversely affecting our SEA Games hosting. It is good that they continue to inform the public of the SEA Games organizers’ inefficiency, so these issues will be properly addressed.
It is said in the social teachings of our Church that the people have the right to receive truthful information regarding public events. This is needed in order for them to engage in social issues and to promote the common good that is the duty of every Catholic.
Brothers and sisters, the government must not violate the essence of truth in order to avoid their responsibility. A rightful reminder for our leaders from the book of Efeso 4:25: “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” It is easy to spread wrong information. Even the government may be the source, when it is being used by politicians to deceive the public to cover their mistakes and avoid liability. This just shows how important it is to be vigilant and observant, particularly regarding social issues that affect us.
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