Gerbner reading Cardo Dalisay

Ithought I was skimming through fake news when I read about Albayalde flagging ‘Ang Probinsyano’s’ portrayal of the Philippine National Police. But in the same week, the DILG mulled filing a case against the TV series while the PNP also announced it will cease from allowing the same show the use of the organization’s personnel, equipment, and facilities. Does ‘Ang Probinsyano’ really pose a threat to the Philippine police?

The longest study of the ill-effects of mass media on society was by George Gerbner of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. For more than 20 years, Gerbner’s Cultural Indicators Research Project examined the impact of growing up and living with television and developed the cultivation theory which posited that stories told by a culture shapes an individuals’ values and behavior. The Mean World Syndrome was a conclusion of the Cultivation Theory which deals with the impact watching television has on the way people see the world. The effects of cultivation was broken down into two levels--the general beliefs about the way we see the world and our specific attitudes towards realities which includes hatred or reverence for the law. The study further suggests that the development of attitudes is based on what is already existing in our society that the media takes and represents in various and different packaging. The study also argues that immersion in television produces a “mainstreaming” effect where differences based on cultural, social, and political characteristics are muted in heavy viewers of television. The result is that heavy television viewers internalize many of the distorted views of the social and political world represented by television.

Watching television was a 24/7 ritual in Gerbner’s time. Today, television fights for that dominance with social media as the web and digital devices have given popular websites like YouTube a more ubiquitous and an almost unregulated presence. Though television stations upload their shows in the YouTube, no single channel dominates it on a specific time similar to television making analytics fleeting and excruciating. Thus, whatever shapes that mean world index now is not solely because of television but can also be attributed to social media’s overreach.

‘Ang Probinsyano’ has occupied Philippine prime time since September 28, 2015 and translates to around 813 episodes of 30-45 minutes per episode from Monday to Friday. Though originally based on FPJ’s movie of the same title, the TV series is currently in its Robin Hood-like chapter, earning the ire of some and clearly, Albayalde’s. But here’s the catch: Ger-

bner’s study involved 3,000 television programs, 35,000 characters to provide continuous and consistent monitoring of violence in primetime television for more than 20 years. Thus, if P/Insp.

Ricardo Dalisay is solely to blame for a decline in PNP image, let’s give the Vendetta at least 17 years more to wreck mayhem on TV and totally occupy all of social media. Maybe it will get real then.

These entered the port in huge magnetic round caskets, electronically manipulated. All persons in the port knew about this and saw it. Except the Chief officer of Customs who said that he did not see any shabu.

After sometime in denial, maybe with the qualms of a disturbed conscience finally admitted that there was shabu in the shipment. He was removed by the President from his office and assigned him to be the head of Tesda , a 24-yearold government agency which had won the “hearts of the people”.

Tesda means Technical Education and Skill Development Authority. It provides quality skills training, jobs and profitable income sources. It is the solution to many problems in society, not war or unrest but a chance for every Filipino to improve their lives, specially the least fortunate. Personally, I appreciated Tesda for its services to the Filipinos and had featured it in my past columns. It gives the Filipinos opportunities to ensure that our human capital remains not only competitive but productive and world class. It ensures that those who have less in life would have more opportunities to increase their chances to secure their own livelihood, self- employment or inclusion in the labor market.

Isidro Lapeña was appointed to head Tesda. This statement of Lapeña shocked me-”What will I do in Tesda?

What? This is my question. Does this mean that he knows , practically nothing about his new post? During his induction he said that there will be no room for corruption under his administration. To prove this, he even invited the officials of the Presidential Anti- Corruption Commission during his oath of office. Urdaneta, the current head , encouraged all officials and rank- and file employees of TESDA, particularly the employees union known as the Association of Concerned Employees (ACE) to support Lapeña. May I ask for the same support, the same commitment, and the same professionalism to pursue the agency’s programs for our fellow Filipinos.

This news headline of Philippine Daily Inquirer issue of November 13, 2018 shocked me anew. NBI FILES CORRUPTION COMPLAINT VS LAPEÑA. This elaborates the news. Not quite off the hook in the ‘shabu’ smuggling scandal, the former customs commissioner is facing graft charges in connection with the disappearance of a ceramic tile shipment worth P69 million.

Now you be the judge about the urgent need of all citizens to be aware of the corrupt practices of our government officials.

National election is scheduled in May, 2919. Scrutinize the qualifications of all candidates who filed their COC. Be sure they are men or women who deserve our respect and who have genuine integrity and moral values.