N.B. – This was published in The Lobbyist (January 12) where I write a column (Subtext).

It’s the ethics, my friend.

Even if I’m not involved directly in the issue, I am compelled to react to Mr. Lito Zulueta’s January 10 letter to the editor in Business World titled “Who will watch the watchdog?” Zulueta wrote in reaction to Luis Teodoro’s January 5 column article titled “Rule makers and rule breakers” where he stressed “the citizens’ right to an unbiased, accurate and fair report on a matter of public concern.”

According to Teodoro, the conflict of interest is apparent as Zulueta is a faculty member of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas (UST). As we may all know by now, UST was the subject of a headline story Zulueta wrote in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) last January 2 titled “UST: CJ Earned Ph.D”

That this particular article cites only one source is already bad. What makes the situation worse is Zulueta’s failure to publicly disclose his being an employee of UST where he gave, consciously or unconsciously, a generally positive slant in his story as he presented the side of UST with regard to the news story published the day before (also as a headline story in PDI though it was originally published in Rappler.com). In that January 1 story written by Marites Vitug titled “UST breaks rules  to favor Corona,” UST reportedly broke its own rules in the conferment  of a doctoral degree on Chief Justice Renato Corona even if the latter was not required to submit a dissertation, only a “scholarly treatise.”

In his January 10 letter to the editor, Zulueta tried to debunk Teodoro’s arguments by, among others, justifying the absence of a public disclosure of his association with UST: “I have always considered my links to UST as perfectly obvious to the people who should matter in this case – the editorial authorities of PDI, who presumably perform the gate-keeping functions that stem and check the biases of my articles.”

In the context of journalism ethics, disclosure is necessary not only to the editors but also to the audience. Public disclosure is important because the people deserve to know relevant information, including potential conflict of interest, as they try to make informed choices. In other words, Zulueta should re-define what he referred to as “the people who should matter in this case.”

Zulueta should know It is only through proper disclosure that the audience could help make sense of an author’s or media organization’s biases, whether real or imagined. To cite an example, ABS-CBN would sometimes disclose in its news reports that it is owned by the Lopezes whenever it cites as sources Lopez-owned companies like Meralco.

In Zulueta’s case, what’s “perfectly obvious” to the editors is notably absent to the public. While there is no reason to argue with Zulueta’s statement that his editors know about his UST connection, it still cannot be denied that the public have not been made aware of it. This situation is clearly a violation of what’s stated on pages 199 and 200 of the Philippine Daily Inquirer Stylebook (1993): “Judges and jurors inhibit themselves if they have personal motives or interest in a given case and so must journalists refrain from writing about close relatives or friends, or about parties to whom they had owed favors in the past.” (emphasis mine) Continuing employment is obviously a favor not just in the past but also in the present.

There is indeed something awkward if a journalist were to write about an institution where he or she is also a paid employee. The situation becomes even more complicated when audiences themselves find out the nature of relationship between a journalist and a source. The people therefore cannot be blamed if they impute malice or deceit, especially when a journalistic output is based only on one source.

While it may not be Zulueta’s intention, there is nothing honest about his reportage last January 2. And after “watching” him, perhaps it is also necessary to answer Zulueta’s question “Who will watch the watchdog?” In my professional opinion, the task is better off given to those who have a firm grasp of journalism ethics , especially those whose concept of journalism is one of deep commitment and not simple employment.

Since this article is about disclosure, please allow me to conclude with a somewhat kilometric one: Teodoro is a colleague at UP and I also know personally Zulueta of UST. Even at the risk of stating the obvious, the reader should also know that my opinion as a columnist does not reflect that of UP where I hold an administrative post. Last but definitely not the least, I should also stress another obvious fact: I have nothing against Zulueta’s other employer UST as I sometimes have professional dealings with some of its students, faculty and administrators.