| Photo by Ewan Buck on Unsplash
Part IV of “Filipino-American Fourth Estate” Series
The field of journalism has been termed the “Fourth Estate.” Why? As taught to us in the mid-1960s by professors of the San Beda School of Journalism, the term “Fourth Estate” refers to the press and news media in their explicit capacity, beyond reporting newsworthy events, of wielding influence in politics and socioeconomics. The term became an addition to the traditional European concept of three estates of the ancient realm: the nobility, churches (as controlled by the ruling clergy), and the commoners. However, when many states became bastions of democracy “Fourth Estate” became more the fourth power — after the executive department, legislature and the judiciary.
But, alas, the power of the pen has also been misused by leading and affluent media organizations and conglomerates to help controversial misfits attain the very top of the leadership ladder.
However, the Filipino-American communities lack the number of voters and affluent members willing to organize, if not fund, political-action committees (PAC).
But this columnist thinks that Americans of Filipino descent — as supplemented by tens of thousands of Filipino workers who have become permanent residents — can wield enough human and financial resources to become more proactive in politics and socioeconomics. They have to organize cooperatives and credit unions as initial vehicles in pushing the tenets of “Cooperative Economics.” Because capitalism has been turned into “crony capitalism.” In many countries, the rich get richer at the expense of society’s poor and marginalized sectors. Corporations in many developed countries have become cartels. With the connivance of corrupt politicians and their tools in the press, especially in social media, corporate cartels can control commerce, trade, and industry.
“Then, Filipino Americans will have to join forces with the other minorities, especially those enumerated in the fifth paragraph of this essay. They can also invite them to form mass-based ventures in Cooperative Economics.”
Filipinos are the most-Americanized Asians and share common historical links with the peoples of Spain, Mexico, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. (Guam and Hawaii have Filipino populations, often estimated to compose at least 16% of their total citizens.) Earlier Filipino settlers intermarried with Native American Indians during the New Spain and subsequent Mexican Empire that included California and other southern states. They also share historical ties with the Black-American community on account of 6,000 Buffalo soldiers that were part of the U.S. Army’s expeditionary force to the Philippines during the Filipino-American War of 1899-1915. Some 1,200 of the Buffalo soldiers decided to remain in the Philippine archipelago as they got married to Filipino brides.
But a significant number of Filipino-American voters tend to support conservative politicians, the top leaders of whom have been accused of racism. While they are still a minority in Filipino-American communities, these conservative former Filipinos are apparently content with being treated as second-class citizens by their political bosses, nay masters.
Perhaps it is high time for the Filipino-American Fourth Estate writers, wordsmiths, and storytellers to wield the real power of the pen (or of the keyboard in modern journalism). They must begin reminding their readers of the words of the late Filipino statesman Raul Manglapus. To paraphrase the former senator and secretary of Foreign Affairs, “there can never be political empowerment unless the people first secure economic independence.”
Then, Filipino Americans will have to join forces with the other minorities, especially those enumerated in the fifth paragraph of this essay. They can also invite them to form mass-based ventures in Cooperative Economics.
