LAST Wednesday, I wrote a bit about Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago’s statement, where she lambasted lawmakers’ “obsession to bling,” and promised to file a resolution prescribing an official uniform for members of Congress attending the State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“I watched TV and could not stand it,” the fiery lady senator said, “ The SONA event should be a serious time for the Congress to pick up policy directions indicated by the President. It should not be treated as Oscar night in Hollywood, with a red carpet, where peacocks spread their tails and turn around and around, as coached by media in a feeding frenzy.”
Santiago expressed distaste over how the SONA is being used as an event to showcase and endorse the works of the country’s top designers.
The senator believes that it takes the focus away from the real essence of having the SONA: the president reporting on the state of the nation.
“I was once a clueless participant in those mindless events. Don’t get me wrong. I am very proud of our local fabrics and our local designers, some of whom are world-class. But the SONA event is not the proper venue for their talents,” she said.
As ABS-CBN News reported, Santiago cited Article 25 of the Civil Code, which dictates that: “Thoughtless extravagance in expenses for pleasure or display during a period of acute public want or emergency may be stopped by order of the courts at the instance of any government or private charitable institution.”
Sen. Santiago pointed out that the country is suffering from “acute public want, because of a high unemployment rate of 7.5 percent and a high underemployment rate of 19.2 percent.”
She also noted the country is also facing an emergency, due to the territorial disputes with China and Taiwan.
Santiago said the purpose of the attire for SONA is only to distinguish the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It need not be glamorous, just formal and decent.
“The highlight of the SONA is the President. It is not the flashy women. Now the flaky men are even getting into the act. They also parade, sometimes with photogenic arm candy, into the session hall and preen like their female counterparts. Enough!” Sen. Santiago said.
She also did not mince her words regarding proper decorum during the SONA: “Most important of all, the attitude should not be frivolous and giggly. The attitude should be serious and businesslike.”
Meanwhile, Senator Kiko Pangilinan also called on the media to do some introspection regarding this issue.
Pangilinan wrote on Facebook: “Sana sa SONA– hindi na binubusisi ng media yung mga suot na barong o gown o sapatos o bag ng mga pulitiko at opisyal, para hindi na rin susubok na magpatalbugan ang mga ito. Ano ba ang saysay ng magarbong mga kasuotan sa kalagayan ng ating bansa? Nagtatanong lang.”
Pangilinan raised a valid point. While news media, in whatever platform, may argue that they only present events as they happen, it is still up to their prerogative how to present the details to the public.
The media has control over coverage: what to frame, what to focus on, what to highlight, what questions to ask, which background information to share, etc.
In more ways than one, they have the power to control the conversation because of this.
Of course, media organizations would argue that they are just giving some human element to their reporting– something that the public clamors for.
We asked the viewers of The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast Balitang America: “Are you comfortable watching Philippine lawmakers dressed for the red carpet when attending the president’s State of the Nation Address?”
A majority of our viewers who voted (67 percent) said NO. Some said it is a shame Philippine lawmakers are comfortable to dress in such extravagant clothes, while their fellow countrymen work like slaves.
One viewer wrote: “Look at the people, the way they dress to hear Nation Address (SONA). Did anyone tell these politicians, that there is a lot of poverty in the Philippines ? Hey people get with it you can’t show things like that to poor people that voted for you. I feel sorry for the President [of the] Philippines.”
Another said: “Isn’t it a fact that Filipinos are suckers for events like this? They forget their names, they forget their problems, they forget everything, just to have a glimpse of the people [who] have or will eventually ‘hurt & deceive’ them… see, even Vice Ganda can make a fool out of them.”
Only 33 percent said YES, with some reasoning that lawmakers also deserve a night of glitz and glamor.
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
