Journalism Review Archives | Page 86 of 159

Who is Michael Yang? Online Media Flag Duterte’s Chinese ‘Economic Adviser’

ON SEPTEMBER 4, President Rodrigo Duterte put a Chinese businessman named Michael Yang on the media radar when he mentioned the latter in a speech before the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Inc (PMAAAI). The president switched from his familiar tirade against drugs and suddenly told his audience:...

Arroyo Draft Charter: Removal of VP from Succession Escapes Media Attention

ONLY A month after she told the media that the House of Representatives doesn’t have enough time to discuss charter change, Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and 21 lawmakers filed on September 19 a draft constitution with the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments. The earliest report on the existence...

Just More Killings?

SINCE JULY 2016, anti-illegal drug operations have been a staple of media reports. The enforcers of an already controversial policy, the police are often accused of planting evidence, or worse, of extrajudicial killings. A killing in Barangay Malubog, Cebu City last October 4 left five persons dead....

Media Notes Unfinished Business as Boracay Reopens

THE ISLAND OF Boracay was shut down to tourists for six months on April 26 to address the island’s deteriorating state, with particular attention to lack of adequate sewerage. However, a host of restrictions and unfinished work are likely to greet tourists when the island reopens. Environmental Secretary...

Resigned or Fired? Uson Gets More Media Mileage

JEERS TO Inquirer.net for adding to the already excessive media attention on Mocha Uson with a single, anonymously-sourced story that President Rodrigo Duterte had fired her. The October 8 report said “a source privy to the information said President Duterte fired Uson.” Other media organizations took the cue ...

The Doctor is (Still) Out: Media on Duterte’s Health

WITHOUT MEDICAL bulletins issued by President Rodrigo Duterte’s physician/s, public speculation on the health of the chief executive will continue. The apparent confusion among his own officials and their conflicting statements are not helping any. On October 3, Duterte skipped attendance in a Pagcor event in Malacanang, with...

Much Ado About Uson

BLOGGER “MOCHA” Uson announced her resignation as assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on October 3 during the deliberations of the Senate finance subcommittee on the agency’s budget. The subcommittee had postponed the hearings twice, after she failed to attend scheduled sessions on September...

Prison Congestion: Focus on Women Detainees

CHEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer for calling attention to the plight of female detainees in the Quezon City Female Dormitory (QCFD). In June 2018, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) noted a congestion rate of 612 percent in Philippine jails. The increase in the number...

Media Gloss Over Nuances in Recent Survey Results

POLLING FIRMS Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia closed the month of September with the release of the results of their latest surveys of public opinion on national issues, as well as the approval ratings of top government officials. SWS’ Second Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey, conducted from...

“Red October” Plot: Some Journalists Asked the Hard Questions

THERE WAS not much revealed during the president’s so-called “tete-a-tete” with his chief legal counsel, Sal Panelo, on September 11, including the president saying there was a plot to overthrow him. He had been saying the same thing since 2016. This time, however, he said the intelligence was from...