Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the Dinner for the officers of the International Press Institute’s World Executive Board

[Delivered at the Ceremonial Hall, Malacañang, November 6, 1997]

The free press and
our world community

ONE CRITICAL ISSUE that needs to be addressed—by governments no less than by journalists—is the role that the press can play in the building of a better world in the 21st century.

I sense some urgency to this issue as I look upon tine turmoil of markets here in Asia and in the rest of the world today. More than any previous crisis that has visited the world in the 20th century, the present travail stands unique in being mainly one of uncertainty. Currencies and stock markets are falling on the expectation of investors and traders that they will decline. In turn, many economies—especially those in Asia—are entering a period of slowdown as a result of the turmoil.

In such a situation, correct information that is accurately reported is of the greatest import. I believe it is the key to dispelling the air of uncertainty. It allows us to distinguish between the real problems that must be faced and the tribulations that only arise from panic. Above all, it will enable us to see what’s really what in the economies under siege—countries not being all alike in their vulnerabilities and their strengths.

Some governments perhaps will still resist the idea, but the present crisis has demonstrated for us what the International Press Institute had earlier anticipated: that in the era of globalization and high technology, the role of the mass media has been magnified many times over. The limitations of time and space are everywhere being erased. What seems local can become global in an instant. The anxieties of a region can become the anxieties of the world as news flashes on satellite television of the Internet. At no other time are associations like the International Press Institute more relevant than today.

Democracy and markets

In its earlier work, the Institute’s mission has focused mainly—and for good reason—on promoting the cause of democracy and press freedom throughout the world.

Given the map of the world as we previously knew it—divided by rival ideologies and dominated by totalitarian and authoritarian regimes—it was imperative to press on the cause of freedom for all those engaged in journalism, and the search for justice for many journalists who were repressed, detained or killed.

In this way, the Institute became indentified with the Filipino people’s own fight for press freedom. During the darkest days of strongman rule, such support and vigilance no doubt helped keep the fires of freedom burning in the heart of Filipino journalists. And in the end, it helped in the success of our nonviolent People Power Revolution of February 1986 that banished dictatorship from our midst.

Today, the Institute plays an even more important role in the free flow of information and the shaping of world public opinion. Modern technology has made it easy for information to move around the world in an instant.

The free press as a key to reform

But the question is often asked if people are being adequately informed for them to make up their minds on the issues and events of the day. Despite the development of the new mass media such as the Internet and the much older broadcasting system, the printed word maintains its important role of helping people make informed opinions. The print media remain bound to the traditional ethical standards of accuracy and fairness, and these in turn are integral parts to decision making in our time.

This underscores what one analyst has observed—that “the connection between market and democracy is basic.” Market divides and distributes economic power as democracy does political power. Markets may lead to concentrations of economic power such as monopolies, cartels or oligarchies, which can be dangerous or inefficient or both. And democracy, if narrowly conceived as simple majority rule, may lead to oppressive combinations of political power.

Whether the problems are in the market or in politics, the service rendered by a free press is indispensable—as the key to correction, change and reform.

As we brace ourselves for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, for the press of maintain its role as the cutting edge of change is a universal imperative. Allow me to suggest that it is important for the media to keep their standards high, as the Institute has zealously espoused. For it is not enough for you of the Institute or national leaders like me to extol the virtues of press freedom. The press must itself demonstrate the good that such freedom brings to society and our world community.

While we should celebrate the glorious work of the press in liberating so many societies from ignorance and oppression, we cannot be blind to the sad consequences that arise when standards of accuracy and fairness break down.

Excesses of paparazzi journalism

We can hardly be insensitive to the excesses of paparazzi journalism that led to the tragedy of Princess Diana. Nor should we be unmindful of the kind of partisan or one-sided journalism that has disfigured democracy in many societies.

It is in championing high standards of journalism side by side with the promotion of press freedom that the International Press Institute has been especially helpful—especially to developing societies like the Philippines. In both these causes, the Institute has served as a vital source of counsel to both governments and journalistic communities. In serving the causes of press freedom, it has also spurred appreciation of the great responsibility of the press in society.

Upon these twin causes of freedom and responsibility the world of the press will always revolve—regardless of how many times the world may turn. As challenges come and go, as leaders pass from the scene and new ones emerge, the public, local and international—can only be well informed and act wisely to the extent that the press is free and responsible.

It is a great blessing that in these closing years of the 20th century, the tradition of a free press—which first began in the Western world—is now spreading its light in the other continents, including our own part of Asia. I fervently believe that this boon to human society will soon enough reach all countries throughout the world in the coming century.