Well, as usually happens during crisis times in the Republic of the Philippines, the parachute journalists are as thick as flies, with an estimated 200 having now joined the jungle-ized Abu Sayyaf media feeding frenzy. Many of ‘em are tagging along with the incoming GI Joes down Zamboanga and Basilan way, being perhaps more aggressive than the Abus themselves in search of the daily hook to meet the ineluctable filing deadlines. Gotta justify their being there, not to mention those large salaries and hazard duty allowances. Problem is, there’s not a whole lot going on and there aren’t enough real stories to go around.

Most of the parajournos spend their time tailing GI Joes, with early photo shots and stories being mostly sympathetic (think GIs jogging while village urchins tag along). Several journalists latched onto the story of a mandatory training on cultural sensitivities at which GIs learned “not to kiss in public or discuss religion in Mindanao.” Others are closely watching the numerous Davao bargirls who have made the trek across the island of Mindanao to Zambo, but the GIs are pretty much quarantined from the usual randy behavior. The current nationalist uproar against the potential rape of Filipino women by the American troops has dictated a strict ban on traditional red light activities. Given the current Filipino hyper-sensitivities and the persistently prying parajournos, ‘tis not likely the boys are going to be able to let off steam in the traditional brothel style. The Davao girls are going to be disappointed, not to mention their families scattered around Mindanao (lost revenue).

A couple of days ago all the Manila dailies carried candid shots of several GI Joes in mufti (shorts, for Gawd’s sake) with Armalites slung casually over their shoulders, on the front porch of a Zambo bank while some buddies were inside doing a little wire transfer business. Apparently they went into town to the bank in their civvies, with their weapons stowed in the jeep. But when they spotted what they considered suspicious looking characters hanging around, and in the absence of Filipino army security, they took it upon themselves to provide impromtu Pinkertonesque presence. Didn’t help that they were muscular Rambo types and wearing stylish shades to boot. Holy imperialistic arrogance, as was pointed out in fine huffing and puffing style within 24 hours of the photos being released by numerous local pundits.

Another problem is that the desperate search for scoops leads even the most experienced parajournos to fall prey to faulty “inside” information. Not to mention names, but a well-regarded reporter’s piece on the front page of the IHT a few days ago fits the profile. The piece, based on (apparently) information from a single army captain, portrayed the Abus as nothing more than a gang of petty kidnap-for-ransom thieves, and definitely not a real threat on the global terrorist scene. Subtheme (unstated but between the lines) was that GMA (and her patron saint Dubya) were basically crooks and liars. While the basic observation that the Abus are a bunch of goons is true enough, the assertion that they are not really terrorists is bunk. The links to Al Qaeda and Bin Laden have been documented. Didn’t Journalism 101 say something about cross-validating sources and getting your facts straight?

Final note: Parajournos are themselves most tantalizing kidnap bait, maybe somebody should start a pool to see who can guess which international prima donna gets to spend some time in a jungle cage first……