Communication is our greatest tool in shaping development, understanding, and unity among people of diverse cultures. It is what led us to achieve our goals of providing service to our people and spreading awareness about issues that demand our immediate response. However, it became subject to actions that violate its purpose of serving and empowering the people. For this reason, communication rights have become a privilege attained only by those people who are rich and powerful. Thus, exploiting the rights of the people living in marginalized areas. To speak, there is individual progress, but no national progress, as Jose Rizal describes it.
Since communication is an important step in achieving development in our country, several solutions were laid out, and some of those are community broadcasting and digital or modern broadcasting. However, it is apparent today that digital broadcasting is the dominant medium for communicating and providing information to its audience. Hence, those people who do not have access to such tools are often left out about the recent and relevant issues concerning their livelihood and our country as well. Therefore, it prevents them from participating in national or community-based movements or activities that will help them improve their lifestyle. As Mr. Raymund Villanueva, Deputy Secretary-General, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), and Director for Radio, Kodao Productions, stated during the forum, we have ‘narrow’ broadcasting in the Philippines that restricts the community in remote or marginalized sectors from accessing information.
That is why, as a development communicator-in-training, I wanted to maximize my resources in providing service to my fellowmen. Just like what Ms. Nathalie David-Dejero did, a radio host of DWWW 774kHz, who used community broadcasting as a tool to communicate her experiences and learnings as a nurse to attend to the needs of the people in marginalized areas. Therefore, I will be able to practice my right to communication and instill the mantra, “serve the people.”
Marian Writes 