Hard pass on ‘Pahinungod’: Why I won’t break bread a hypocrisy

THE invitation arrived with all the trappings of officialdom and intended goodwill. 

The Misamis Oriental provincial government has invited the Cagayan de Oro Press Club to "Pahinungod," a gala ostensibly dedicated to honoring the local media.

As the club’s vice president for print, I have a short, unequivocal response: Hard pass.

I will not be an accomplice to this ostentatious display, nor will I lend my presence to an event that reeks of irony.

It requires a particularly short memory to accept this invitation without flinching. 

It was, after all, only late last year when the Governor stood before a captive audience at the Capitol and undressed the local press. She didn't just call us biased; she weaponized our economic reality against us.

She painted practitioners as destitutes, condescendingly remarking on how we struggle to feed our families on “meager salaries.” It was a backhanded statement that implied our poverty makes us vulnerable, unethical, or irrelevant.

I also remember that all the big media organizations issued a statement of rebuke for that incident.

That moment stripped away the veneer of mutual respect. It revealed a mindset that views the press not as a pillar of democracy to be respected, but as a charity case to be pitied — or worse, bought.

To attend “Pahinungod” now would be to validate that condescension.

It sends a signal that while we may be insulted from the podium one day, we can be pacified with a banquet the next. It suggests our dignity is cheap — priced at the cost of a catered meal.

But beyond the personal insult to the Fourth Estate, there is a more pressing issue: the morality of the expense.

Hosting an extravagant gala on the public peso is an exercise in tone-deaf governance. 

We are living in tight economic times. To lavish funds on a party for the press — while Capitol employees reportedly wait for delayed wages — is not just insensitive; the optics are grotesque.

Public funds are finite. Every peso spent on appetizers and venue rentals for a self-serving “tribute” is a peso that should have gone to the people who actually keep the provincial government running.

Journalism is not about being feted by the powers that be. It is about holding them accountable. 

We do not need a gala to validate our existence. 

What we need — and what the public deserves — is a government that respects the role of a free press without resorting to economic shaming, and one that prioritizes its workers’ salaries over its image.

So, keep the invitation. Keep the banquet. I prefer to keep my self-respect.