Ilang araw muna ang pinalipas ni FDCP Chairperson Liza S. Dino para ilabas ang kanyang saloobin tungkol sa pagkakatanggal niya bilang miyembro ng Executive Committee ng Metro Manila Film Festival.

Matatandaang naglabas ng official statement ang MMFF Overall Chairman na si Mr. Danilo Lim na inalis na niya si Ms. Dino bilang miyembro ng kanilang komite dahil sa isyung gusto diumano ng huli na mailipat sa kanya ang pamamahala ng Metro Manila Film Festival na nagdiriwang ng ika-45 taon ngayong 2020.

Nitong Linggo ng gabi ay nag-post si Ms Dino ng kanyang hinaing tungkol sa isyung sangkot siya.

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“ON SILENCE AND SPEAKING UP

“I promised my daughter that my Sundays would be just for her. Government work is non-stop because there’s always an endless parade of things you have to do kaya dapat ikaw ang magtuturo sa sarili mo para magtira ng oras para sa pamilya.

“But as much as I want to pretend that this Sunday is just like any other Sunday, I can’t. I’ve been going through a lot of personal struggles lately, and at some point, I have to find ways to reconcile with these feelings. And today, I chose to process my own and focus on what I’m personally going through.

“In the past, I’ve always been very vocal with my opinions and immediate feelings, sometimes to a fault. I would not hesitate to express my own point of view about things or speak my mind about matters that are important to me, especially on social media. That had worked quite well with me before when I was not yet a part of the government, but when you become a public servant, there’s no way you can do the same things without being held accountable for what you say or do. It’s almost impossible for people to separate their perception of you as a government official and you as a person.

“I tried to be the same person that engages in conversations to provide reason and logic, but through the years of doing my work in public service, I’ve realized that social media is not always the best place to resolve issues. Even if you have good intentions, people tend to misconstrue what you say, or worse, twist it to suit their own narrative until it’s a totally different story altogether.

“Before you know it, what started from a place of reason has now become a source for more conflict and division. This realization has taught me to become more discerning even if it means absorbing every nasty thing that people say about you in social media and not saying anything about it.

“Hindi sya madali.

“Actually, masakit sya. At the end of the day, tao lang ako. Nasasaktan. Lalo na kung alam mong hindi totoo ang mga bagay na sinasabi tungkol sa pagkatao mo. And as I go through this process of juggling between understanding and tolerance, it’s inevitable for me to get affected physically, emotionally, and mentally, especially if the online hate comes from people who know me and have been close to me at some point.

“This is where I’m at right now.

“The past few weeks have been very difficult. There are so many things that are being said about me and my work that are so hurtful and demoralizing. While the easiest thing to do is to speak up and air my side here, what I found myself doing is to step back, breathe, and not get overwhelmed by emotions. Differentiate actual actions from just posting online. It has allowed me to process things better and understand why things are happening the way it does. And get to the point of an actual solution.

“It’s not because I don’t have the answers to the questions. I know that the truth reveals itself eventually, once all the outside noise subside and there’s room to listen to reason. I am not losing sight of the goal. And the goal is to resolve eventually, ang kung anumang hindi pagkakaunawaan.

“But while it’s ok to express our opinions and frustrations on social media, I hope we can still be mindful of others and their own personal battles. Here, it’s much too easy to go around and spread hate and negativity than get to the bottom of the truth.

“I hope we can still try to be kinder at daanin ang lahat sa mas maayos na paraan katulad ng pag-uusap.

“I’ve come to terms with the fact that you can’t please everybody and no matter what you do, people will say what they want to say. But I’ve never given up on the belief that people will see through sincerity and good intentions. And right now, that’s the only thing I have to hold on to.

“It’s never going to get easier, but I am going to be better.”

Anyway, humihingi ng meeting si Ms Dino sa pamunuan ng MMFF pero hanggang ngayon ay tila wala pang sagot.