Craftofwriting

MariaFatimaA. Villena
Languagefor a Cause p. I

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 q-E

Craft of Writing
Maria Fatima A. Villena
Konrad Adenauer center for Journalism inaugurat

TheKonradAdenauerCenterforJournalismffinauguratedlast
June 8' 2000 at the Ateneo de Manila University, Rockwell Center.
q_
Former President Corazon C. Aquino delivered a speechrstressing.gdtne
impogffie and perils ofjournalism. Likewise, according to Arr, it is"oi
- r these
aspecfS-the Center takequpon itself a noble but also uery complex mission.
w..
She pointed orii.the highest value for ajournalist is the truth and that the ^t,
ro",r',dation
thecapacity
forsearching
it out*,Ti;W
:r:'H:#.TJi1rlijl"lf;;i'
The level of the charlenge, she said, increasesgreatly becausethe center
aims to reach not only Filipino but southeast Asian jJurnists who arilaced with
differencesin cultural boundaries and beliefs and plagued with the worsening
Asian crisis. ,.1
/j
In her speech
, r gftffigrueling statistics journalists
on killedor
"t graphic indicator gffie health of "pressfreedom
jailed as being the most
and the
perils of the profession. Recentry, rneKe scenario in southern
@tne
Philippines as the hostage crisis in Minddao takes place. Journalists risked their
lives and becamehostagesthemselvesto get to the story.

But, the former president said to come to the story is

lhe job of ,/urnatism.
It is wha.tcounts and how it is told. She stressedher hope{P,ttre sudcessor
tne
center to teach journalists how to find the story, how ti u.fny it, trow to
complete it and how to tell it well.

.Journalism is open to change and prone to being misinterpreted. In

cgvgringthe right side of a conflict, journalists may find themseivesbiased in
their treatment of the news while covering the wrong side in the name of
objectivity may be understood as encouragingevil aid agreeto it. This, she
stated, and manifested the fact that journalism is never possible under a
dictatorship but rather does best in a democratic setting.

The center aims to bridge cultural boundaries among Filipino and

Southeast Asian Journarists to focus them in its major endiavoi: to herp them do
their basic job better and that is to tell the-16ry: R" fo.*e, president Aiuino
stressed, values like decency, compassion, truth, freedom, justice arrd f.i.rr."a
are the same eveqrwhere, whatever language or cultural backlround a3ournalist
may have.
FRBI"I: I"IHRKET
I NG DEPRRTI'IENT PHoNEN0. i AgA+ NRY. L3 ?@AAlE:EEf;I'l P1

Cr.rftof Writirul
MariaFatima,q.IViltena
MILF declares ceasefire

':
t4*oro lslarnicLiberationFront (MILF) cleclared yel'terdaya 4g-hourturilateral
ceasefirei* Mi'dernaoeffectiveu e rr",n,loary,.
.snroaay
Al Haj Murad, the.musriurdissicrentgroup's
'ict: chainnansaid, ..we llave
decidedto decrare6-48-hourceasefirl
in areas,:r:l;;; MILF Xghters are
engagedin a shootingwar with goverrunenttrooperis.

f19-stient Josephpsrradl expressecl higher hopes'thatthe govenrmentand

MILF peacepilpels would retu,u to the-negotiaring
table soonerto end ilris
all'out the chief E.xecuri-ve
1va9 /Ithtough is sril $udving the MILF
declaratior(andwould luve ro forlorvsetco*oirious

secretaryorlando Mercado of the .Departmentoff National

Defense(DI.ID)
said tlnt CabinetClusterE poseclthesetwo condit:.ons gauge
to tlre sincerity
of MILF in declaringa 4g-hou ceasufire.

"Cluster E recommendecl that the group shouldfrist lay down its anns and
free all hostages. president approvedthe receurmendations
Mercado flt. ' r- --
pressnted,,'
a;sctyifly",Mp niE p:Anepasada
ngpangulo.,,
nuJL. ry rcLV'V"a'rn2
clew*6 repofter{that tilere is atready an existing ceasefire
Y:li'dt,
agreelnefrtbetweeu the governrnentand MILF vrlrich tlre lauei has
been
repeatedly
violating.

According to M.ercado. military operation, in infindanaoare merely

in
responseto the cqrsefireviolationsrrracle
by theMlL,F.

/''"