Journalism Review Archives | Page 89 of 159

Federalism Faces Uncertain Future: Media Misses Meaning of Cabinet Opposition

DUTERTE INCLUDED among his campaign promises in 2016 the shift to federalism as a way to jump-start government decentralization and the re-distribution of development nationwide. His rhetoric never detailed how this would be done, but it was one of the changes which appealed to many voters in far-flung regions...

“Cha-Cha” Sans Context: Issues Without Interpretation

A BACKER of charter change (cha-cha) since her own presidency, House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is apparently still deeply committed to the idea. But unlike her predecessor Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez (1st District, Davao del Norte) who threatened to push for a “people’s initiative” to rush cha-cha, Arroyo is confident that...

Airport Shutdown: Failure to Highlight Poor Management Response

A RUNWAY mishap paralyzed the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) operations for 36 hours, inconveniencing thousands upon thousands of passengers. The incident put NAIA back in the news – once more for negative reasons – and revealed weaknesses in the response of air transport officials and the transportation department...

Another Drug Shipment Slips Through: Media Miss What It Says About The “Drug War”

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Aaron Aquino inspects the seized magnetic lifters in Cavite. | Photo from PDEA Top Stories Facebook page. ON AUGUST 10, operatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the police seized four magnetic lifters in a warehouse in...

From Friend to Foe? Duterte Criticizing China on Treatment of PH Military

Screengrab from Inquirer.net. On July 31, the Associated Press (AP) reported that Philippine military aircraft patrolling over the Spratlys within the West Philippine Sea had received at least 46 Chinese radio warnings telling them to leave or “pay (sic) the possible consequences.” The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philstar.com and SunStar...

Amid Resign Threats, Coma Allegations: Public Needs to Know About President’s Health

Screengrab from Inquirer.net. PUBLIC SPECULATION on the president’s health intensified last month, when he was reported to have undergone a “routine check-up” before delivering his State of the Nation Address. As usual, the Palace denied all talk about Rodrigo Duterte suffering from any serious medical condition. On August 19,...

Same Old, Same Old: Duterte Repeats Threat/Promise to Resign

HE TALKED about it again! On August 14, 2018, speaking to businessmen in Malacañang, President Rodrigo Duterte broke off from his prepared text to say that he was thinking of resigning–but not without conditions. He recalled telling the military and the police that “I am thinking of stepping...

Dengue After Dengvaxia: Media Focused on the Politics of it

THE RAINY season is also dengue season in the Philippines. In 2017 alone, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 131,827 dengue cases nationwide, of which 732 were fatal. Life-threatening dengue is a serious concern for everyone. A person can be infected several times, as four strains of the disease...

Editorial Raises Issue of Police Accountability

Photo of Inquirer editorial. CHEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer for its editorial that looked into police accountability in the death of a detainee. The August 12 editorial “Unremitting Impunity” critically examined the death of former Overseas Filipino Worker Allan Rafael, 35, who had been detained in the...

Reporting the Strikes Over “Endo”: Missing the Major Issues

THE SPATE of strikes by several labor unions in different companies has once more called attention to President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to end labor contracting, or “endo” as it is popularly called. CMFR monitored the reporting of ABS-CBN television network’s TV Patrol, GMA-7’s 24 Oras, TV-5’s Aksyon, the...