Journalism Review Archives | Page 61 of 159

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...

Another LGU best practice: Inquirer reports Valenzuela’s contact tracing

CHEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer for a two-part series that featured a local government’s approach to contact tracing. This important measure against COVID-19 has been underappreciated by the national government since the pandemic began, but Valenzuela City has shown how this can be done efficiently on a smaller...

Three typhoons in a row: Too much for government and for media

IN A period of three weeks, three destructive typhoonshit the country like a chain of bad luck. Typhoon Quinta made landfall in Quezon in late October and swept through provinces of Central Luzon. Super Typhoon Rolly struck the island of Catanduanes and parts of Bicol region on November 1....

Sensational treatment, lack of facts mar report on RTC shooting

JEERS TO several media outfits that made a spectacle out of the fatal shooting of a regional trial court judge allegedly by her clerk of court in Manila. Breaking news accounts repeatedly flashed a video, supplied by an unidentified source, showing the crime scene. Some news organizations uploaded the...

Rappler brings to light military’s dangerous behavior online

THE DUTERTE administration’s fight against communist insurgency has taken to social media platforms as a frontline of action. As the military justifies its “information war” to help quell insurgency, its resort to red-tagging citizens has become its major tactic. The objects of such a campaign have included journalists whose...