The timing is absolutely perfect. With the showing in local cinemas of the critically-acclaimed movie Lincoln, as if with deliberate motive, this piece is all about our thoughts in public service bias. But before anything else, let this BGlante offer a brief background on the story line of the movie Lincoln. It helps that before entertaining yourself of seeing the movie, the better to understand its plot. Here we go: in 1865, as the American Civil War winds inexorably toward conclusion, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln endeavors to achieve passage of the landmark constitutional amendment which will forever ban slavery from the United States. However, his task is a race against time, for peace may come at any time, and if it comes before the amendment is passed, the returning southern states will stop it before it can become law. Lincoln must, by almost any means possible, obtain enough votes from a recalcitrant Congress before peace arrives and it is too late. Yet the president is torn, as an early peace would save thousands of lives. As the nation confronts its conscience over the freedom of its entire population, Lincoln faces his own crisis of conscience -- end slavery or end the war.

With bias towards none, we feel that in Lincoln’s time, his bias was towards the end of slavery in southern US giving rise to the 16th President’s shepherding for the passage of the Slavery Emancipation Act. Closer to home, our own close call with accusations of bias in handling the public service radio program “Inyong Alagad”, provoked this essay if only to shed light on our passion as radio anchor. Actually, what appeared to be the trigger mechanism was a text message purportedly coming from a perceived admirer who, reading between the lined, accused us of all charges, yes, you guess it right, bias. The messenger said he stopped being our fan because we seemed to be “sleeping with the enemy of truth”. We really cannot fathom what led the accusation. Trying to reason out that we don’t think we will survive all these years to stay afloat as an independent, fair and objective anchor, but still we do not understand why we are still being considered as biased in favour of…

Bias? Not in the life of this BGlante.

First off. Why do you think this radio anchor jump ship from a highly-rated program like Cuentas Claras over Station DYTR, when “we could have cut it clean and cut cleanly”. Had we then been freed of any suspicion of bias while in another station, we could have stuck our guns and stay afloat—and to hell with self-styled critics. But we chose to be true to our mandate to stay clear of any suspicion lest we become ineffective in our undying quest to stick to the truth—and nothing but the truth. And chose we must to be credible at all times in the service of the Boholanos. Time and again, we are confronted with a time-honored dictum that one cannot please everybody. Because if you intend to please everybody, you will end up pleasing nobody. So try we must to stay neutral, but still some people suspect us of having played footsie to some vested interests. If so, then, we are left with no option except to rest our case in the name of truth.

A hackneyed phrase provide us the needed sanctuary of truth; that it sets us free, no more, no less. In any case, we can also seek comfort in another famous quote of Abraham Lincoln about criticism and bias, a classic quote which could be a timely reminder to those who nurtured that we are bias in one way or another in our pursuit to seek the truth in public service. It says: “If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what's said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”