Simula July 1, 2022, "discontinued" na ang Get Real column ni Solita Collas-Monsod sa opinion section ng Philippine Daily Inquirer.
"Clear conflict of interest" ang binanggit na dahilan sa notice na ipinadala ng management kay Monsod sa pamamagitan ng isang "impersonal email."
Mahigit dalawang dekada na naging kolumnista ng pahayagan si Monsod, na kilala rin bilang Mareng Winnie sa mga GMA-7 television shows niyang Debate With Mare and Pare, kasama ang dating governor ng Pangasinan na si Oscar Orbos, at Bawal Ang Pasaway Kay Mareng Winnie.
Sa column niyang "Hold Your Horses" na inilabas kahapon, June 18, 2022, isiniwalat ni Monsod ang rason sa likod ng pagkakatanggal sa kanya.
Board member kasi siya ng "direct competitor of the Inquirer," ang news website na Rappler, pero "public knowledge" raw ito.
Nilinaw rin niyang tinanggap niya ang imbitasyon bilang "advocacy" at walang anumang "financial interest."
Narito ang kabuuan ng eksplanasyon ni Mareng Winnie:
"Last Saturday, I received an email from Juliet Javellana, Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) associate publisher, informing me that my column, Get Real, would be discontinued, citing that I am a board member of Rappler, 'another news organization and therefore a direct competitor of the Inquirer,' and that I have encouraged my readers to read Rappler.
"I quote: 'In light of the clear conflict of interest between your position as columnist of the Inquirer and your advocacy for Rappler and membership in its Board, we are serving notice that we shall discontinue your column 'Get Real' effective July 1, 2022.
"This reasoning intrigues me. For when I was invited to join the Inquirer more than 20 years ago by Mrs. Marixi R. Prieto (then its publisher). I was a columnist for the Business World (BW), writing a twice-weekly column. That did not stop Mrs. Prieto, however, nor obviously Letty Magsanoc, its late editor in chief.
"They published my 'Get Real' column on Saturdays, while my BW columns came out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This arrangement lasted more than 10 years, until late 2010 or early 2011, when, for health reasons, I had to give up writing for BW.
"Then, in 2018, when I accepted an invitation to join the board of Rappler, this was public knowledge. I consider it an honor, especially since it has been under siege by the Duterte administration—just as PDI was under siege by both the Duterte and Estrada administrations.
"The PDI case also merited my support and unstinting loyalty, as well as the support and loyalty of all who believe in the freedom and independence of the press. Thus, I saw Rappler as a comrade in arms to PDI and not a competitor.
"I assumed PDI management felt the same, since at no time from 2018 to the present did PDI management take issue with my involvement with, or advocacy of, Rappler's cause.
"By the way, I never wrote a column for Rappler and do not have any financial interest in it, other than one share of stock to qualify for a board membership.
"So Reader, we may ask: Why the sudden volte-face by PDI? And why, after more than 20 years of working together, does PDI not think that I rate a face-to-face discussion or a Zoom chat or a telephone chat, instead of an impersonal email? This is how we handled difficulties before.
"To be sure, Yam, from the Opinion Desk, called to try to explain, but it was cold comfort.
"Thank you for your fruitful readership,” ang paliwanag ng 81-year-old TV personality na host din ng New Normal: The Survival Guide, na inilunsad ng GMA News TV noong July 2021.
Bukas ang website na ito sa anumang pahayag ng Philippine Daily Inquirer tungkol sa mga tinuran ni Monsod sa kanyang column.
Bukod sa pagiging kolumnista at TV personality, nagturo rin si Mareng Winnie sa University of the Philippines School of Economics, kung saan siya ay professor emeritus.
Nanilbihan rin siya bilang socio-economic planning secretary mula 1986 hanggang 1989 sa ilalim ng administration ni President Corazon Aquino.