Covering for ABS-CBN

“Si Col. de Guzman po ito,” the voice on the other line replied.

“Col. de Guzman” called me at around 6:30 p.m. three days before the election. Since the voice sounded too young for a colonel, I was skeptical. Also, I do not know a Col. de Guzman among the officers assigned here in Kalinga. And yet, somehow, the voice stirred a chord in me though it was a very faint one. I ended up asking the caller to identify his unit.

He said… ABS-CBN.

I was dumbfounded by the reply and the subsequent laughter as he said, “Sika met classmate,” in an affectionately accusing tone. It was only then that the fog in my usually foggy memory had cleared.

Good old Dhobie de Guzman. Of course, that’s who it was!

Apparently, Dhobie got my number from my associate editor after having read something I wrote in this paper. Days before that Pigeon Lobien of Cordillera Today texted me that he gave Dhobie my number. I did not mind that he did since Dhobie was my biggest critic as well as one of my best friends when we were writing for the BCF (it wasn’t UC then) campus paper, The Alternative. I did mind, however, that Dhobie introduced himself as a colonel. I happen to consider it a low joke that he tried the trick purposely to make me jumpy knowing I had previously written in a tone that was highly critical of the police here. If only to get back at him (revenge is a hard habit for a Kalinga to break), I am henceforth referring to Dhobie as Col. de Guzman.

Col. de Guzman called to offer me a job as an ABS-CBN reporter for the duration of the election. I accepted the offer because I counted on it to have some effect on the politicians and their supporters here to know that a giant television network has its eye on the province. The other reason is stature. Let me explain.

A day before Col. de Guzman called, I was asking Pigeon if he knew anyone who works for a national daily as my way of asking him to help me shop for a national outfit where I could dump my reports. I wanted to get a correspondence job from one of the broadsheets because officials here may simply ignore you if you only write for a regional or local weekly. In fact, when I have difficulties trying to get an official statement through text, I misrepresented myself as a correspondent for the Philippine Star or the Manila Times. It usually worked. I know it was a sleazy trick, but the two dailies could always exact payback from me by making me a correspondent. You have no idea how dangerous a place Kalinga can be to a journalist.

By the way, the Manila Times rejected me last year because their roster for Cordillera was already full even if their Cordi correspondents were all based in Baguio.

Before we stray from the topic at hand, being an ABS-CBN reporter made my job a breeze. I no longer have to squeeze information from the right people to get a good story. The information was readily volunteered. At times, it was given to me without any questions asked.

I managed to squeeze in three reports that I never got to hear. I only learned the reports were played on TV from another old friend, Scott Saboy, son of the pioneering Kalinga journalist Augustus Saboy, who texted me upon catching my voice (if it was mine at all) on TV. My mother, on the other hand, heard the news from neighbors in Baguio City and rightfully castigated me for not telling her about my latest media escapade. Dhobie, err… Col. de Guzman told me the network executives were ecstatic over my report, but I was more inclined to believe it was his way of encouraging me to do a better job.

Basically, I reported on an alleged ballot snatching in Tabuk and the impending victory of Floy Diasen. The ballot-snatching bit turned out negative. So were similar reports that were either exaggerated or taken out of context. What was closer to the truth was that watchers and some BEIs were forced out of their precincts by some goons who proceeded to do the job of voter, BEI and canvasser. I could not have possibly reported on them because they were all just whispers, though consistent with one another, and the informants did not want to come out in the open.

For the same reason, I could not also report the vote buying, the intimidation and the many irregularities that had taken place this election. Why, I could not even get the NAMFREL to admit that the Lubuagan votes in their copy was padded? The election watchdog told me I could report it as such (an admission), but I have to promise not to attribute the report to them. I could not grant the request, so I did not report it though I personally questioned their impartiality (this requires a rather lengthy discussion and I’m not inclined to do it).

Despite all the animosities, I agree with the observation that this is, by far, the most peaceful election in Kalinga. There are several areas of concern, but the improvement could not be denied.

Now, is the local election in Kalinga honest and orderly? Let’s not call a chicken a fluffy little cow. Please lang. (xxx)*** Bani Asbucan

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