The misdeed of Mislang is the reason for others to be “gagged” if that is the right term.
Sec. Ricky Carandang, a former radio-TV anchor said that all accounts of officials on social networking sites are to be suspended until guidelines are drawn up for their use.
Where did Mr. Carandang secure his right to silence or censor public officials in the social networking sites? How wise is that? Anything expressed there by officials in the privacy of their domicile within the parameter of law is no one’s business --- the government included --- unless there is intent to suppress the constitutional freedom of speech. If officials are discouraged or not allowed to interact with others in their Tweeter, Facebook, Friendster or My Space accounts, this government said to be democratic will go down in history as worse than the Marcos dictatorship.
Setting guidelines in using the sites is a prior restraint and equates censorship.
If Carandang is still in his old job, I believe that he is among the first to air his dislike on the idea of guidelines our officials have to follow. If “officials” are those in the government, it is foolish to believe that Carandang or the government can monitor their online activities 24/7. Doing such is a clear invasion of privacy.
It is recalled that the Nazis and secret Communist police kept a good eye on their citizens’ private activities.
It is too bad that every official is now a suspect to do foolishness like what Mislang did.
If Carandang is serious, Pres. Aquino should tell Ricky to clean his office, tell him to crank up his car --- done with his job. -30-
No comments:
Post a Comment