PTV RELEASED REPORT ON SARANGANI REEFS

A Critique Paper
On May 6, 2020, PTV, a state-run television network, aired a tv report about a
fishing vessel causing destructions to coral reefs on Sarangani Bay. The news aired a
photo of the Sarangani Reefs along with a headline carrying grammatical mistakes. This
came as disbelief of the public especially that the station was duly owned and operated
by our government. In fact, many viewers were shocked by the news and claimed that
the government television network doesn’t have proofreaders or utilized proofreading
before airing to the public.
PTV is a government-funded television network, and it serves as the mainstream
of local news and government announcements. Their intention was clearly positive: to
cater a piece of well-furnished and reliable news to the public, and to ensure that the
public will be well-informed of the local happenings. However, many criticized the
network after they aired news unworthy with the level of taxes paid by the government
constituents. This urged some of the concerned citizens to sue the TV network and to
suggest that the amount of taxes they have paying were not properly engaged for
improving the means of catering news. More than one citizen also called for a must
hiring (if there’s none) of proofreaders especially, that we really need reliable and
mistakes free news amidst the global pandemic. Contrariwise, some criticized the PTV
network but, in my opinion, our government also should be blamed. If there is
something wrong with the tree, one should identify the roots. Our government as a
trusted system of the public must be responsible for the actions of its counterparts.
While it was devastating news to follow, the statement was ambiguous and it
violated a subject-verb agreement rule. Instead of using “damage” to the plural verb
“vessels’ they have used “damages” which created confusion. According to the subject-
verb agreement rules, “If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular, and if the
subject is plural, the verb must be plural too.” But, the word “vessels” was an incorrectly
used subject since, according to the Department of Natural Resources, there is only one
“vessel” that ran aground the Sarangi Reefs. In addition, the word “reefs” was
misspelled as “reeps” On the bright side, the network had already posted a revised
headline of the news last May 6, 2020.
Suggestions and criticisms shaped us. Indeed, it was not easy to digest criticisms
at hand, but, the mere fact that you're helping the society to improve was something the
system should ponder. Learn to accept disapprovals or do not afraid to make mistakes.
We all commit mistakes anyway and that is a universal fact. But, one must remember
that we need to be prudent in sharing, collecting, and writing news, especially amidst
the crisis. Learn not just to scrutinize every information on social media, or any
platforms but, also on how to obtain reliable news on a reliable news agency. We
should be all responsible for every single thing we have shared online, on television,
without forgetting the ethics of sharing news.
Reference:
Malasig, J. May 8, 2020. When spelling goes wrong: PTV airs report on Sarangani reefs
with grammar mistakes. Interaksyon. Sept. 21, 2020 URL:
https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2020/05/08/168035/spelling-
goes-wrong-ptv-airs-report-sarangani-reefs-grammar-mistakes/
Subject-Verb Agreement Rules. Academic Guides Waiden University. Sept. 21, 2020
URL:https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/subjectverbagr
eement