Journalism Review Archives | Page 67 of 159

Inquirer blasts DILG drive for charter change amid pandemic

PUBLIC OPINION polls have again and again found that federalism and Charter change (Cha-cha) are not priority issues for Filipinos. The shift to federalism was among President Rodrigo Duterte’s promised changes when he took office in 2016, but the bills filed by his allies that tried to do that...

Media report ECQ shift to modified quarantine as just another “carmageddon”

AFTER TWO months of lockdown, the government decided to ease quarantine restrictions in some areas. Modified levels were announced for different jurisdictions from May 16 to May 31. Modified levels of the ECQ included the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine...

Have we “flattened the curve?”

IN APRIL, as the clamor for COVID-19 mass testing intensified, the government scrambled to scale up its testing capacity. On the 30th, during the regular press briefing of the DOH, Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire admitted that the DOH had failed to meet its target of conducting 8,000...

GMA-7 airs one-sided interview against ABS-CBN

ABS-CBN’s 25-year franchise expired on May 4, 2020. The House of Representatives had not decided on the network’s application for its franchise renewal. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN late in the afternoon of May 5. The network aired its evening newscast...

ABS-CBN signs off: Politicians dominate coverage, public interest sidelined

IN THE hands of members of the House of Representatives of Congress, franchise power has been captured by political forces. Without Congressional action on its renewal, the 25-year franchise of ABS-CBN, the country’s largest media network, expired on May 4, 2020. Because there was no valid franchise, the National...

Why the special treatment for POGOs?

WHEN THE government declared the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, many businesses including the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO), were forced to suspend activities. Apparently, however, the proponents of POGOs won’t let those enterprises sit idly for long. And as it have...

Chinese buildup amid COVID-19: Little protest from government and media

THE PHILIPPINE government did not seem to be aware that China had constructed two research facilities in Kagitingan and Zamora Reefs in the West Philippine Sea, and had established two administrative districts.The first one is in the Spratly Islands, which include the Kalayaan Island Group and are declared Philippine...

Editorials assail abuses during lockdown

CHEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Manila Standard for editorials calling attention to the strong-arm approach of the government on violators of quarantine regulations, assailing it in the time of the pandemic. The Inquirer’s “Crackdown” on April 28 referred to recent incidents, among them the warrantless arrest of...

Muddling through aid distribution mess

THE EXTENDED community quarantine (ECQ) has pushed more Filipinos deeper into poverty. The government’s aid has been slow to trickle down and at the rate that things are going, it may not reach those who need it the most in time. On April 2, the government rolled out its...

Still on COVID-19: A closer look at DOH mass testing

THE COVID-19 pandemic may have caught the world off-guard, but with the right combination of resources and sound policy-making, some countries have addressed the peril more effectively than others. South Korea is often cited as a model in mass testing, without having to impose a strict lockdown. In the...