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ONE OF the 11 fellows of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Aquiles Zonio, who hails from Mindanao, Philippines, is in the country to learn more about the local situation regarding freedom of the press. Having invested 25 years in the media profession, Zonio, a correspondent for the Mindanao Bureau of the Philippine Daily Enquirer met up with the Bulletin to share his findings and ask a few questions of his own.
"The main purpose of my visit here is to do a story on the real press freedom situation in Brunei. Based on my own experience, I can say that the Bruneian media is enjoying more freedom than what we are experiencing in the Philippines," noted the Filipino scribe who received a fellowship grant from the press organisation that promotes and protects press freedom in the region.
Elaborating on this profound comparison, bearing in mind that the Philippines often regards itself as the champion of press freedom in the region, Zonio explained: "There can be no real press freedom if journalists exist in a state of fear, poverty and corruption, which is prevalent, not only in the Philippines, but also in several other Asean member countries. I spoke to several colleagues in Brunei and they told me that they were not harassed or intimidated by the authorities for writing any sort of sensitive stories. 'We are free to write any sort of story we want without fear of such reprisals from the authorities,' they acknowledged."
Zonio, who is perhaps best known for being one of the three journalists to have survived the bloody Maguindanao massacre in 2009, where 58 innocent civilians were brutally gunned down in cold-blood by the Ampatuan clan, of which 32 were journalists, pointed out "journalism is not just a mere profession, it is a volition and it entails lots of sacrifices".
He went on to admit that as a journalist, "the personal experiences are not high paying but, you will find contentment and self-fulfillment and that is one thing that money cannot buy. There is no price tag for it". Having covered the political affairs of the Philippines and the civil war in the Mindanao region, Zonio has amassed a wealth of experience. Asking him why he continues with this potentially fatal profession, he quipped: "The journalists in the Philippines, not all, do not really receiving high salaries, especially provincial journalists like me and unlike you journalists here in Brunei who receives handsome salaries. We, Filipino journalists, are just handsome but not in terms of the salaries."
Even before the Maguindanao massacre, his conviction and determination to get the truth out of covering high-profile corruption cases, injustice, illegal gambling, illegal mining, to which he received several death threats and libel cases for his noble efforts, ever since 2004: "I have to carry a gun when walking out in public to protect myself and I always keep a gun under my pillow when I sleep because the state cannot protect us and I don't trust our law enforcement agencies. But being here in Brunei, it is the first time that I have experienced sleeping at night without having to worry about locking my door. I cannot do that in the Philippines or several other Asean countries."
Putting his career into a more philosophical perspective, he explained that by exposing the truth, "in the Philippines, you are putting one foot in harm's way and this has happened to me, of receiving death threats since 2004. But I am lucky that I am still alive. I hope that I can live out the rest of my natural life and to die naturally, and not by 'accident' because I believe that God has a plan for every human being".
In his personal view, "freedom cannot be absolute because it comes with responsibilities. Our main objective as journalists is to serve the people, in other words, what we do is a public service. We are the fourth estate. When the other three branches of government go down, it is us as the fourth estate that has to give our voice to the visions of injustice or criminality. The media everywhere should always help the government attain the common good by publishing fair, accurate and balanced information. If the media cannot do that, then it poses a big question mark to our existence and worth".
Asking him the latest update in the quest for justice following the Maguindanao massacre, Zonio explained that he was optimistic that justice would eventually be reached, "maybe not today or soon, but maybe in 20 or 30 years time". Surprised with his answer, he further spelt out: "We need to be patient. We need to make sacrifices. It is not easy to get the justice that you deserve in a country where the judicial system has double standards that is based for the rich, but we have to fight back through the legal process. But it may take three to five generations before we will see any real change. So why are we doing this? Not for our own sakes, but for the benefit of our children and their future."
Discussing some other aspects of his travels and experiences, he surmised that there is indeed much prejudice and misunderstanding around the world. "But there are a lot of commonalities. And the only thing that can change all that is education."
