In his keynote address, the bishop admonished everyone "not to be dictated by media’’ because media, instead, should serve man. Far from being honed and shaped by media, ‘’we should regulate media," he sternly reminded the audience of 300 parents, educators, religious and lay leaders, mediamen and students.
Because he has seen what media, in general, and television in particular, have done to control the hearts and minds of people, the prelate exhorted media and its practitioners "to be accountable’’ for such power that they wielded.
The prelate’s message rang loud and clear for the chief organizers and workhorses of the handsomely-staged affair, high school principal Sister Bernadette Padawel, and the amiable university president, Sister Nilda Madirag who is also head of academic affairs. The two nuns, like the bishop, have resolved to include TV literacy in the university’s priority efforts, thanks to the gripping messages and visuals presented during the three hour symposium.
GETTING TO KNOW
THE MTRCB CHIEF
MTRCB chair Ma. Consoliza Laguardia flew in via Cebu Pacific, Anak TV’s official airline, to grace the event with Elvira Yap Go and Edgardo Roces. It was one of the rare occasions that the darling of the local TV industry found time to take off from the pressures of classification and review, and of late, classifying even DVDs and video materials under the Optical Media Board.
Laguardia was finally seen, in the flesh, by the citizens of Dumaguete who heretofore only see her on TV either being interviewed, as subject of the news or being spoofed by Joey de Leon. She spared the crowd heavy academic discourse, casually explaining what her duty is as MTRCB chief and how such responsibility as guardian dovetailed with everyones duty as parent.
Remembering that MTRCB was chiefly operating in Metro-Manila and had very few in the regions, she asked her fellow parents in the audience to be vigilant and to bring to their attention any violations of the MTRCB rules, both in cinemas and on television. She even dictated her direct line so people can alert her immediately.
For her casual and genuinely unaffected talk, and for the charming stories she plucked from her heart, Laguardia was rewarded with generous Oriental Negros applause.
The afternoon was spent enjoying the unbelievably clean and outstandingly manicured campus of St. Paul. Here was a university that looked like it jumped out of a gardening and interior design magazine. Not only did the landscaping take ones breath away; the order and discipline palpable everywhere were worth taking note of. One wonders: Pinoys, when in Subic, Japan or America, where the physical environment is invigorating, clean and tidy, tend to adapt so well and become similarly fastidious and law-abiding as the locals. Could the secret be in promoting such an environment?
At St. Paul University, at least, it seems to work convincingly.
