What About the Philippines?

By: Bob Boyer

 

“I looked in the index for the Philippines, but it was not there.” I’m afraid that this is how I greeted the groom on the eve of his wedding on June 19. My wife and I are close friends of the bride’s parents and had been invited to the rehearsal dinner and wedding. I had just finished the groom’s book, “Power Surge.” As the title suggests it was all about energy.

Just after Michael, the groom-author had greeted me and we had exchanged introductions, I made the above comment. The Philippines was not in the index. Michael smiled and made a quick reply. “Well, I just met the Pope’s representative to the U.N. a couple of days ago, and he’s a Filipino.” Michael added that there was a second Filipino with him who was the representative of an association of churches.

I was, of course, impressed. Still, I did not let Michael off the hook. I made explicit what he already understood. His book is about the uses, and oftentimes abuses, of energy sources globally. He notes that one of his personal major concerns is with the use of fossil fuels and the carbon dioxide that they release that contributes to climate change. So I was implying that islands are particularly vulnerable because climate change is almost certainly contributing to rising ocean levels, the loss of coastlines, and greater vulnerability to perilous storms.

I was teasing Michael, not criticizing him, as he well knew. His book focuses on the relationship among the “trifecta” of economics, environment, and security. It is introductory in nature and has little time to go into any particular part of the globe in any detail. We both clearly knew, however, how especially important this trifecta is to an island nation such as the Philippines.

When my wife and I took our leave from the dinner and dance after the wedding the next day, Michael and his bride Megan graciously saw us on our way. My parting words were, “I’ll be looking in the index of your next book, for the Philippines.” How’s that for persistence? Keep an eye out for that next book by Michael Levi. And check the index.

The Michael Levi book and a recent picture of Sheila Coronel have something in common. Neither mentions the Philippines. The picture, identified as “File/AP,” appeared in the April 16 “Green Bay Press Gazette,” my local paper. It identifies Sheila Coronel as a member of Columbia University’s School of Journalism. It appears with an opinion piece critical of a “Rolling Stone Magazine” article that basically distorted (invented?) the facts. Coronel was discussing the now notorious article about the supposed rape of women students by fraternity members. She was, presumably, on the committee that investigated the reporting.

What neither the picture nor the article take note of is that Sheila Coronel is an award-winning investigative journalist from the Philippines. She has been in the Journalism Department at Columbia for at least ten years, but the only time I met her was over twenty years ago in Manila. She gave a talk on the responsibility of journalists.

I remember that her two points were first to get to the truth of the matter and then to stick to it no matter what. Her main example was reporting about police corruption at the time in Manila. That was a challenging and a hazardous occupation but one highly respected within the country and widely in Southeast Asia. In the “Rolling Stone Magazine” case, she is clearly critical of any departure from first getting to “the truth.”

While I complain about the lack of recognition or the giving of due credit to the Philippines, as in these two instances, I haven’t given up hope for improvement, at least on the part of Levi.

Contact Bob Boyer at www.anamericaninmanila.com and Robert.boyer@snc.edu.