Of confused antecedents
& confused, angry Netizens

WAS it wrong reading of a story or simply a wrong story? Apparently, it was both and more: A case of confused antecedents.

Who cracked the joke about the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill being unnecessary, given the openness and transparency policy of President P-Noy?

The story’s author, Philippine Star reporter Christina Mendez, had clarified late Thursday night that it was Sen. Franklin Drilon and not Communication Secretary Ricky Carandang, who cracked the joke. By her statement, it was clear that the PCIJ misread the report and got it wrong in its blog post.

That the joke came from Drilon sounds just as bad, or even worse. He is one of two vice chairmen of the ruling Liberal Party (LP); the other is Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., who has yet to prod the Committee on Public Information of the House of Representatives to move faster on the FOI bill. President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III is LP chairman, while Transportation and Communication Secretary Mar Roxas is LP president.

To be sure, some Netizens have been similarly confused by The Star story about the FOI joke.

On his twitter account, Jojo Pasion Malig, data journalist and night desk editor at ABS-CBNNews.com, posted three comments on his Twitter account:

First: “I think the problem was the Star’s headline and pronoun use in 4th para:”

Second: “Plus, 2nd paragraph attributed 1st paragraph to ‘media managers.’”

And third: “’He said’” could refer to either Drilon or Carandang. Vague. Pronoun ‘he’ should be ‘Drilon’”

Too, FOI advocate Jenina Joy Chavez posted on her Twitter account: “I also read the original Philippine Star story, and understood the quote as being attributed to Sec. Carandang.”

She wrote further: “So, what was report’s basis for this: ‘Aquino’s media managers seemed to have taken this view on the FOI bill…?’”

Many other Netizens took the PCIJ to task for posting an erroneous blog. They fired off sharp, scathing comments: “so unprofessional,” “wasak na ang integridad at kredibilidad,” “you’re such a big joke,” “reaction first before verification?”

One was particularly funny — “Di naman magkamukha o magkasingkatawan si Ricky Carandang at si Sen. Drilon.”

Yet another asked TV anchor Ces Orena-Drilon who had also posted comments: “Will you also do the same and pressure your station if they’re the ones who got it wrong?”

These are all points well taken, and the PCIJ is glad to be reminded to do better. Truth is, if journalists can dish it out, we should also be able to take it in, and promptly admit mistakes we make in good faith.