Journalism Review Archives | Page 102 of 159

Senate Hearing on “Fake News:” Getting Back at Trolls and Other Trivia

THE SENATE hearing on “fake news” on October 4 contributed little to the public’s understanding of the term and its meaning. It has become a buzz word, used to mean different things to different people. In holding such a hearing, the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass...

And Then There Were None? Questioning the Existence of EJKs

“TO ALLAY or remove their fear, let it be known that under the present administration, there is only one case of extrajudicial killing or EJK for the period July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017,” PNP Spokesperson Dionardo Carlos told the media on October 6, downplaying the Social...

Duterte Favors Fighting Troops but Forgets Evacuees

CAMPAIGNING FOR the presidency, then candidate Rodrigo Duterte said, “I’m ready to be your father… I promise you a comfortable life.” His avid followers have taken to call the president “Tatay Digong.” But the paternal figure he is as chief executive has shown undue favoritism for some of...

Exposing Redacted SALNs: Perverting a Tool of Transparency

IN BUILDING up a case to establish a government’s ill-gotten wealth, investigators inevitably turn to the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) because it is designed to establish the wealth of a public official at the start of a term; and from year to year, reveal...

Press on Impeachment: Helping the Public Understand

THE 1987 Philippine Constitution vests Congress with the power of impeachment to hold accountable certain officials of government. These include the president, vice president, the ombudsman, members of Constitutional Commissions and members of the Supreme Court. Barely over a year in office, the Duterte administration has seen its fair...

Squabble in the Senate

Screengrab from CNNPhilippines.com. Squabbling senators led the hearing into a sorry display of disorderly conduct, derailing the attention of the public as well as the media from relevant and salient points in the ongoing probe of a PHP6.4 billion drug shipment from China. These hearings demonstrated opposing positions of senators...

Understanding the Commission on Human Rights

Photo from the Commission on Human Rights official Facebook page ONE HUNDRED nineteen votes was what it took for the House of Representatives to downsize the budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to a piddling PHP1,000 for 2018. Congressmen, who acted on a motion by SAGIP Representative...

Flagging More Risks for Youth: DepEd’s Random Drug Tests

THE DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) released on August 8 DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2017 (DO 40, s.2017) which implements the policy of carrying out random drug tests in public and private secondary schools nationwide. Section V of the order says that tests aims to “determine the prevalence of...

Capitalizing on A Victim’s Grief: GMA-7’s Insensitive Interview

AMID GOVERNMENT claims that it is now safer on the streets, the spate of killings in the war on drugs continues, with more children and minors added to the list of casualties. Happening within two days of each other, the killings of 17 year-old Kian delos Santos...

Still Most Shabulized? TV5’s Aksyon Checks Duterte’s Iloilo Drug Figures

“YOU ASKED for the assignment sa Leyte. Namatay ang mayor doon. You asked for another assignment sa Ozamiz, namatay ang mayor doon, si Parojinog. Ngayon, gusto mo sa Iloilo, kasi si Mabilog has been identified as a protector-mayor. Mabuhay kaya siya?” The president’s question to Chief Inspector Jovie...