Journalism Review

Dacera case: Media echo, fail to check sloppy police work

IT HAD all the elements of the sensational. A young flight attendant had been found unconscious in a posh Makati hotel room on New Year’s Day. She was brought to the Makati Medical Center by her friends who were staying with her in the hotel. But Christine Dacera was...

Vaccinations in secret: Media miss public safety issue

IT CAME straight from the horse’s mouth. Last December 26, President Rodrigo Duterte announced in a public address that “almost all” soldiers have been inoculated with the Chinese anti-COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm, which, along with all other vaccines has yet to be approved as the law requires by the Philippines’...

“Isolated incident?”

THE COLD-BLOODED double-murder of a woman and her son by an off-duty policeman in Tarlac rocked the nation just a few days before Christmas. Footage of Police SMSgt. Jonel Nuezca shooting Sonya and Frank Gregorio point-blank in the presence of his own daughter went viral on December 21. The...

Lack of context in government testing policy

THE PUBLIC clamor for mass testing began as early as March 2020 when the World Health Organization (WHO) advised all countries to “test, test, test” in order to curb the spread of COVID-19. But government just couldn’t muster the resources nor the capacity to implement the strategy. Proceeding in...

Media on the questionable arrests of the ‘Human Rights Day 7’

ON DECEMBER 10—Human Rights Day no less—the PNP arrested a journalist and six activists on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives as part of what critics denounced as a questionable string of such arrests. Lady Ann Salem, editor of online news site Manila Today, was arrested at...

Justice for judges: Rappler flags impunity in lawyer killings

NOT EVEN those who administer justice are spared from the country’s culture of violence and impunity. Since Duterte became president in 2016, 54 lawyers, prosecutors and judges have been murdered. As the number of killings continues to grow, justice remains elusive for the victims. Of the 54 killings documented...

The Sub Judice rule and cases of public interest

SEN. LEILA de Lima’s trial has moved at a snail’s pace, dragging on for more than three years since her arrest in February 2017. Charged with conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading, she is detained without bail. It took 18 months after her arrest for her arraignment to take...

Cheers! Philstar.com documents poor Senate record as watchdog against abuse

ONLY TWO senators dissented when the Senate passed its third and final version of the Anti-Terrorism Bill in February, amidst protests about the potential for abuse in the implementation of the law and senators’ assurances about sufficient safeguards. The now-enacted Anti-Terrorism Act has since been challenged by numerous petitions...

Rappler looks into Duterte’s many task forces

THE GOVERNMENT is not new to national task forces, special bodies formed by the president to address urgent matters. President Duterte has created 16 task forces so far, perhaps more than any of his predecessors had done. Obviously, task forces are only as good as the people running them....

Can’t probe or won’t ?

RODRIGO ROA Duterte talked big about ending corruption in government even during his 2016 campaign. Four years into his term, he has definitely shown a soft side for some officials, holding them to standards less harsh than those he has held others. CMFR noted how most of the media...

Press Freedom Protection

Attacks and threats against the media

Press Freedom

Ampatuan Trial Watch

Media Defense

Legislation

Freedom of Information

Libel Watch

Cybercrime

International Day to End Impunity in the Philippines

Media Ethics and Responsibility