Journalism Review Archives | Page 81 of 159

Beyond Congress: Explaining the Negative Impact of the Budget Deadlock

NO MATTER who wins in the seemingly endless budget row between the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Filipino people will certainly be on the losing end. On February 8, after months of delay, both legislative chambers yielded to compromise to pass the 2019 national budget. But new...

Investigative Reports Needed on the Influx of Foreign Workers

A FORMER columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, who is now special envoy to China, drew flak for saying during a TV interview on March 7 that Chinese workers are better than their Filipino counterparts. The kerfuffle that ensued attracted media attention without connecting it to the concerns over...

Media Warned About Spurious “Survey Results”

ON MARCH 8, five Manila broadsheets –The Philippine Star, Manila Bulletin, Manila Standard, The Manila Times and Daily Tribune — reported that the senatorial candidate, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go had “surged” to the top three rank in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. None of the accounts said...

Media on the Rice Tariffication Law: All Positive According to Their Sources

WITH THE signing of the Rice Tariffication Law, the Philippines in the coming months can expect a steady supply of rice; so claim its proponents, principally Senator Cynthia Villar. The measure, signed by President Duterte on February 14, lifts import limits and imposes tariffs on imported rice. It seeks...

Ressa’s Arrest: Limited Appreciation of Press Freedom

KNOWN FOR its critical coverage of the Duterte administration’s policies, Rappler, an online news site, was subjected to another form of harassment when its CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa was arrested and detained overnight on a charge of cyberlibel. Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) served...

Rappler Keeps Focus on Continuing Toll of the “Drug War”

CHEERS TO Rappler for keeping the “drug war” in the news. Its report last February 24 pointed out the new “epicenter” in the government’s continuing campaign with a count of the number of drug suspects in 2018. In “Central Luzon: New Killing Fields in Duterte’s Drug War,” Rappler reported...

Who is Dennis Uy: The New Pacman

FOR ALL his tough talk against corruption, President Rodrigo Duterte makes no effort to mask the rampant cronyism in his administration. Among the president’s favored cohorts, the Davao businessman, Dennis Uy, is a major player behind the consortium, the Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. (Mislatel). Media dutifully reported what...

Head Start Advantage: PCIJ Report Bares Pre-campaign Spending

THE RACE officially started on February 12, but the contenders have been burning money on advertisements way earlier. After examining the pre-campaign ad spending of senatorial candidates for the May polls, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) found candidates whose spending exceeded their individually declared net worth. CMFR...

Media Clueless about “Pork” in the 2019 National Budget

IN 2013, the Supreme Court declared “pork barrel” as unconstitutional, the name given to the practice inserted allocations, also known as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), in the national budget. Nearly six years after, the multimillion peso discretionary fund for lawmakers is back and in even bigger amounts. CMFR...

Measles Outbreak: Countermeasures Highlighted, Vaccination Woes Revealed

LAST YEAR, a news brief in the Philippine Daily Inquirer published on October 25 reported a 926% increase in confirmed measles cases since January 2018, as recorded by the Department of Health (DOH). Unfortunately, that staggering rise in cases did not get a follow-up from the press and thus...