No solid proof against GMA. Media reports say she is "guilty as charged".

It’s been several weeks since J-Lo, the "probinsyanong instik" told the Senate about how he tried to "moderate their greed".

He narrated how President Arroyo and his husband Mike is the top recipient of the billions of pesos of kickback from ZTE for the NBN project. At this time J-Lo is going around the major university campuses trying to look like a hero and exciting the youth about the possibility of another people power. The youth who were too young to have joined Edsa one and two are now being aroused with the possibility that this time around they can be at the forefront of bringing down a sitting president.

What worries me is how we as a country get easily swayed by theatrical expose of corruption. Despite the absence of solid proof that can stand up in the court of law we tend to base our judgment on tear jerking whistleblowers.

As a public relations practitioner, I know there is what is called the court of public opinion where you can be found guilty before proven innocent. Here in this court, for the longest time, GMA and his minions have been successively found guilty before proven innocent.

I think it is because we are so convinced about the existence of corruption in high places. I think it is because we also see proof of corruption even in our own barangays. That is why when GMA, his husband or a member of her administration is accused of receiving kickbacks, without solid evidence, the public immediately believe it’s true.

In this situation, I hope the media should play its role as the bulwark of our democracy. Instead of riding on the political roller coaster the media should work double time to help us see what is fiction and non-fiction.

Sadly, the media is so concerned about ratings that they tend to go where the wind blows. They would rather join the chorus of the civil society, some holier-than-thou bishops and the opposition in urging us to search for truth.

While they are marshalling us to search for the truth we are already hearing a clarion call for GMA to step down. Is this not double-speak? This is where media should come in. They should be able to help us decode what the opposition is telling us. In this way we can hand the right verdict. Not just move towards what the opposition wants us to do. Instead, what our nation deserves.