Public information as pro-government propaganda

N.B. – This was published in Asian Correspondent (November 9, 9:00 a.m.) where I write a weekly column (Philippine Fantasy).

Retrieved from PIA websitePublic information is supposed to be easily understandable. In the Philippines, however, the government has made “public information” synonymous with “pro-government propaganda.”

Technically, public information, as the term suggests, refers to important information to the public. It should be free from any political color and could therefore come from any source. The importance of information is assessed according to its significance to public lives.

An example of public information at work is the BBC which is “funded by a licence fee that is paid by UK households.” As a result of its independence, BBC had even been criticized for allegedly being biased against the government. In the words of Lord Tebbit, “The BBC is another part of the destruction of Great Britain.” And yet, it continues to be subsidized even if it does not always work for the interest of the government.

Public information networks could also subsidize programs that do not rate well, as in the case of children’s programs. They could therefore serve as alternatives to profit-oriented media broadcast stations that produce shows mainly based on potential ratings and advertising revenues. The popular TV program Sesame Street, for example, is being produced by the US-based Sesame Workshop, a “non-profit” educational organization.

How is public information done by the Philippine government? Thanks to government officials who think that the only information worth sharing to the people is the one favorable to them, the concept of public information has become more of an aberration.

Indeed, there is something wrong when the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) controls, among other agencies, the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and the People’s Television Network (PTV, renamed National Broadcasting Network or NBN). The OPS is directly under the Office of the President.

Right now, the programming schedule of NBN shows that mostly pro-government personalities are being given programs though anti-government forces are sometimes provided token representation as guests. As for the PIA’s website, it presents mostly “harmless” or “positive” news. As of this writing, for example, PIA headlines a news article on the President opening a gift for a Cabinet secretary who celebrated his birthday.

A listing of news articles in Gov.ph: The Official Government Portal of the Republic of the Philippines proves the one-sided nature of public information by the government – as of this writing, the website’s top three articles are RP advised to increase broadband penetration rates to boost economic growth, PGMA to inspect irrigation projects in Northern Mindanao, and PGMA orders Domingo to complete infra projects in ARMM. Even if the facts are presented, they are packaged in a way that highlights the government side and, most of the time, ignores the arguments of the opposition.

Retrieved from Gov.phUnfortunately, the public has come to accept the likes of the PIA and NBN to always toe the government line. They have been conditioned to think that this is the normal state-of-affairs and that the people will just have to live with it.

The Filipinos should not be blamed for this kind of mindset. The government, through the years, has been making public information synonymous with pro-administration propaganda.

As a result, it becomes unthinkable for a government-owned or controlled news media organization to become independent or hard-hitting. That a public information system could be independent but still subsidized is possible but the government prefers not to do this.

The distortion of public information that is happening right now could be rooted in feudalism, as government harps on its demented thinking that agencies it funds should be subservient to the wishes of officials.

State universities and colleges (SUCs) like the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) are normally seen by the powers-that-be as “ingrates”, as a result of the activism of many of its students and faculty. Not surprisingly, they are constantly threatened and subjected to budget cuts though the reasons given are varied.

It is necessary for both media and the general public to take the government to task for its failure to give significant information to the public due to its skewed concept of public information. Instead of presenting the truth, government gives a sugar-coated reality through its one-sided reports.

Since elections are just six months away, presidential aspirants should include the establishment of a real public information system in their platform of government. In order to better inform the people, the next administration should adhere to the essence of public information and not just reduce the information agencies to mere mouthpieces of the powers-that-be.

One thought on “Public information as pro-government propaganda”

  1. This is ’selective perception’ at its best. It is when a person sees only the things he wants to see, and completely disregards those he deems as ‘not serving his best interests.’

    This Administration has, from the very beginning, adopted a culture of self-promotion, self-praise, and self-gratification, particularly on the aspect of information regarding its undertakings. It sees journalists presenting the Government’s inadequacies and malevolence as leftists, and praises journalists presenting nothing but the Government’s ‘pa-pogi’ projects. This Administration does not have delicadeza, much less know the meaning of the word.

    I am joining Prof. Arao in hoping for a next President who will, finally, establish ‘a real public information system’ for the entire Filipino nation. Only then could we finally take pride in having an unbiased Media, and only then that sugarcoated realities will become just things of the past.

    Reply: Thanks for the feedback. All the best!

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