Editorial

Better things to do

SOMEONE should tell the government?s top censor that it is silly to sue a public service TV show for using the Philippine flag and the presidential seal in a sketch to dramatize the life of a shoe-shine attendant who polished shoes for the Presidential Security Group in Malaca?ang.

The chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board apparently took exception to the Feb. 28 episode of Wish Ko Lang on GMA-7, which featured a sketch with the comedian Ate Glow doing an impression of President Arroyo, standing before the flag and the presidential seal. The show?s unauthorized use of both symbols violates the law, the chief censor said in a letter demanding that the network apologize.

But it seems that the TV network?s biggest sin was its temerity to refuse to apologize, even after a stern letter from the board chairman.

?The chairperson was shocked by the network?s stance,? an official from the board?s legal department said. ?We never had a hard time demanding apology from its officers and talents in the past.?

Intended or not, the statement speaks of an authority that demands respect without necessarily earning it. It doesn?t take a legal expert to understand that the Flag Law was meant to protect the symbol of our nationhood from disrespect and desecration. Neither of these were apparent in the Wish Ko Lang sketch, notwithstanding the use of a comic to play the part of the President. We also believe restrictions on the use of the seal are aimed at preventing their use to deceive the public or to usurp government authority. Again, neither of these is evident in the GMA-7 sketch.

By and large, television has been a vast wasteland of awful programming and bad taste, but the suit against the GMA-7 public affairs program is frivolous and petty. Certainly, the board has better things to do.

Elephants in the sea
An interesting drama currently playing out in the seas northwest of the Philippines should put the recent passage of the law defining this country?s territorial baselines in its proper geopolitical context. At the very least, the heightening of tensions between Washington and Beijing in the South China Sea would make us realize that there are much bigger forces involved in the dispute over the important sea lanes and potentially resource-rich islands west of Palawan.

A national malady
Some businesses are recession-proof. Just take a look around. First is the memorial industry; people are just lining up and longing to die. Another one is the cosmetics, wellness and facial care business. Women cannot afford to be seen in public without a made-up face.

Zeroing in on the irrigation project
Is this another fraud-tainted infrastructure project or is there an attempt of a losing contractor to discredit the bidding process? National Irrigation Administration head Carlos Salazar swore that the bidding for the purchase of Pl.4 billion worth of heavy machinery by the agency was above board. And he lengthily explained why. The agency chief also clarified that the project had not yet been awarded to either of the two pre-qualified bidders. One would have thought that the controversy would die down with Salazar?s vigorous defense of the transaction.

A dubious crusade
At first blush, the crusade against the Government Service Insurance System being waged by ex-Senator Ernesto ?Boy? Herrera appears noble and altruistic.

Truisms
Senator Ping Lacson finds himself in the middle of a major controversy today. And it is one that seems to have most of the requisites that would ordinarily?had it happened to an ordinary mortal and not a senator like himself?would have already merited congressional inquiry and a major dressing down and scolding from senators and congressmen.