Journalism Review Archives | Page 66 of 159

Duterte boasts he did it: But Palace tries to hide the truth

WHEN THE government controls the narrative, and spins the interpretation of what officials are saying, the media as watchdog must report the truth. The latest on the closure of the giant media network ABS-CBN involves the clumsy effort to sanitize the president’s speech, causing more damage because the media...

Possible loss of lives in sea mishap calls for media follow up

FOURTEEN FILIPINOS are still missing after the collision involving the Filipino fishing vessel Liberty 5 and the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship Vienna Wood. The incident happened off the coast of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro in the late evening of June 27, as reported to the authorities shortly before 2 am...

Battle for Cebu: Local media question militarized COVID-19 response

THE ALARMING spike in cases, the high mortality rate, and the rise of severe and critical cases in the province of Cebu last June pushed the National Task Force on COVID-19 to focus their efforts on the new “epicenter” of the pandemic in the country. Reports citing data from...

Is the PH “winning” against COVID: Media debunks government’s spin on WHO report

DESPITE THE continued rise of cases across the country, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque claimed government is “winning” against COVID-19, and congratulated the Philippines for supposedly beating the University of the Philippines’ (UP) projection that the number of cases could shoot to 40,000 by the end of June. This came...

Disjointed coverage fails to report the huge crisis in education

THE RETURN of students each year has always involved all kinds of problems for the country’s educational system: perennial overcrowding in schools, and the lack of classrooms, teachers and textbooks. CMFR has noted how Philippine media hardly try to break out of the rote coverage of these problems year...

Reports fail to question “overwhelming” support for the Anti-Terror Bill

AMID GROWING criticism from different sectors against the so-called Anti-Terror Bill, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque touted support from an “overwhelming majority” of local government executives based on a document from Interior Secretary Eduardo Año allegedly showing the support of 784 local government executives – composed of 43 governors, 68...

Stranded in one’s own country: Media highlight plight of Filipino migrant workers

THE COUNTRY’S lack of livelihood opportunities has long compelled Filipinos to seek better paying jobs abroad. For the same reason, Filipinos have also moved from the provinces to the urban centers of the country. The long lockdown period has closed down many jobs, causing workers to be stranded in...

PH media coverage subdued on the verdict on Rappler

RAPPLER CEO Maria Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos, Jr. were found guilty of cyber-libel by Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa of the Manila RTC Branch 46 on June 15, on charges filed by businessman William Keng in October 2017. Media coverage was relatively subdued in reporting the landmark case that...

Commuting horrors on GCQ day: Only some reports noted government incompetence

TRANSPORT WOES marred the National Capital Region’s (NCR) transition to general community quarantine (GCQ). As some industries reopened on June 1, the lack of public transport forced returning workers to walk long distances and hitch rides from private vehicles. The government’s bus augmentation program did little to help as...

Media failed to flag HB 78: Semantics flouts Constitution

SHOULD HOUSE Bill 78 become law, it will amend the 84-year old Public Service Act to strictly define and differentiate between “public service” and “public utility.” The 1987 Constitution stipulates that “public utilities” must be at least 60% Filipino-owned. HB 78 has gone through five months of deliberation. It...