CMFR Staff, Author at CMFR

From the Newsrooms: November 27 to December 2, 2023

REPORTS OF a surge of respiratory illnesses in China recall the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019. Hospitals in Northern China, particularly in Beijing and Liaoning, have filled up with... Read more

Media fail to highlight HR issues in GSP+ talks

JEERS TO news outfits that focused entirely on the trade benefits of the European Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) without discussing issues involving human and labor rights,... Read more

Under the budget gun: Rights body falls victim to pressure politics

THE COMMISSION on Human Rights (CHR) succeeded in having its budget for 2024 approved by the Senate but did not emerge from it unscathed. Its proposed PHP1.9 billion was... Read more

A week of cases: Legal actions cast more doubt on ‘dangerous’ anti-terror law

THE ANTI-TERRORISM Act (ATA) is one of the most contested laws in Philippine history. Since it was signed into law in 2020, the ATA has been repeatedly challenged before... Read more

COA’s ‘special audit’ report on Pharmally scandal out; few media pick it up

HEFTY CONFIDENTIAL funds are arguably the hottest talk of the town since budget proceedings in Congress began some months ago. In the course of deliberating the 2024 funding for... Read more

Irresponsible and unethical: Philippine Star, Inquirer.net parrot unverified allegations against de Lima

JEERS TO The Philippine Star and Inquirer.net for uncritically parroting allegations by former officials of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte that Judge Gener Gito, who granted bail to Leila De Lima,... Read more

NorDis explores impact of hydropower projects on Cordillera Indigenous communities

CHEERS TO Northern Dispatch (NorDis) for its special report that mapped out the hydropower projects in the Cordilleras and highlighted its impact on the Indigenous population. Read more

De Lima granted bail in third and last drug case

AFTER SIX YEARS, eight months and 21 days, Leila de Lima gained freedom after posting bail of PHP 300,000. Arrested and detained in February 2017, she spent nearly seven... Read more

Reports on widespread violence belie ‘generally peaceful’ 2023 elections

WITH THE barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections held last month after five years, 1.41 million Filipinos vied for the village-level posts nationwide, a much higher number of candidates compared... Read more

Yolanda ten years later: Media goes back to communities, zoom in on perennial problems

TEN YEARS ago, the tragedy caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) claimed at least 6,300 lives and forced 750,000 people to flee their homes. Media accounts recalled the day... Read more