The Philippines’ news media industry is in a conundrum now that “vice president” Leni Robredo has been given the reins of the government’s War on Drugs. Together with their cronies in the foreign media, they had been highlighting what they had referred to as “the killings” they took liberties to sensatoinalise in their “reports”.
What happens if these so-called “killings” continue under Robredo’s watch? Will the media continue to report them? Will “awards” continue to be thrown at “photojournalists” who scramble to make names for themselves on the back of their violence porn?
See, leadership is not just about coming up with great ideas and turning these into soundbites. This essentially is what Robredo’s “leadership” of the Yellowtard-led Opposition had been all about since she rose to fame on the back of the Philippines’ renowned necropolitics. That’s not to say that Robredo’s ideas are great or that her soundbites resonated for the right reasons, of course. But that’s a whole massive but different topic altogether.
What makes a good leader is execution — in all senses of that term. This is why the offices of the president and vice president are part of the Executive Branch in Philippine-style “democracy”.
Robredo will learn soon that results are what matter. More importantly, Filipinos will likely realise too what sort of news media industry they are subject to.
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