Newspapers and tabloids took great interest in Nikki Coseteng's expose at a congressional meeting that was initially set to investigate the problems in cycling. Interestingly, Coseteng's expose involved not cycling but swimming. After Rabusa and the AFP scandal, media just got all too excited to feature yet another case of malversation of millions of government funds. Media immediately jumped in on the expose involving Mark Joseph, the Philiippine Aquatics Sports Association ( PASA ) president..
Had media been more responsible in handling the expose of Nikki Coseteng, it would have realized that the former senator was speaking on a subject that is beyond her. Coseteng is not a member of PASA. Hence her knowledge of how the association operates is pure second-hand information. She also does not know Mark Joseph personally. She has never met Mark Joseph as she told me in an interview. It simply defies logic to pass judgment on a person that one has never met. The fact is, Coseteng relied much on what PASA's rival group, ASAP, had to say about Mark Joseph. ASAP or Aquatic Sports Association of the Philippines is the entity that seeks to replace PASA as the governing body of swimming in the country. Any thinking and responsible media personality would have taken Coseteng's expose at best with a grain of salt.
The truth is, the expose came when Nikki Coseteng and ASAP officials failed miserably in their attempt to break a Guinness world record. The expose, more than an attempt to expose corruption in swimming, is more of a way of getting back at Mark Joseph who they believe sabotaged their efforts. Nikki Coseteng and ASAP blame Mark Joseph for the non-participation of PASA members in the record attempt. The fact that the checks being used by Coseteng and ASAP against the PASA president date back to 2008 truly indicates that the expose is more of a personal attack more than anything else. If her intention is to really expose corruption in PASA, why did Coseteng wait for three whole years before informing media about the shenanigan ? When I asked Mark Joseph about the 2008 Pagcor checks, he simply said that those were accounted for and settled way back in 2009. While I am not completely exonerating the PASA president from any wrongdoing, the timing of Coseteng's expose is suspect and reeks of personal vendetta.
Media has jumped in on something it did not fully investigate and analyze. Damage has been done to the person of Mark Joseph by media without the benefit of a thorough analysis. The incident shows the damage a highly irresponsible media can inflict on an individual. The whole episode is truly a learning experience for a new sports writer like me. It made me realize that lives can be destroyed by people in media who do not take the time to open their eyes and mind.
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