Journalism Review Archives | Page 97 of 159

Value-Added Reports on ICC Withdrawal

Screengrab from ICC’s website. CHEERS TO some media organizations for going beyond President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and providing relevant information about the issue. A significant policy shift, the withdrawal which the president announced on Wednesday, March 14, deserved media scrutiny and...

Missing out on the Witch-hunt: Delayed Media Attention on List of Terrorists

THE PRESIDENT’s love-hate relationship with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) ended with him tagging them as a terror group, endangering the lives of 600 individuals alleged as terrorists (“Duterte signs proclamation labeling CPP-NPA as terrorist group”). Quite a turn from his unilateral call for ceasefire...

Drug Raps against Espinosa et al Dropped: Everyone Caught by Surprise

OBVIOUSLY, INSIDERS in the Department of Justice (DOJ) were not happy about setting free well known drug personalities who had figured prominently in the government’s war against drugs. So the DOJ resolution to dismiss the complaints against Peter Lim and Kerwin Espinosa among others for lack of sufficient...

Media Missed the Point: Quasi-judicial Powers for Police

PRESIDENT RODRIGO Duterte on March 1 signed Republic Act 10973, giving subpoena powers to the police. It amended the Philippine National Police (PNP) law, allowing the PNP chief, as well the director and the deputy director for administration of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), to issue...

What is a Quo Warranto? The People Want to Know

AS THOUGH the threat of impeachment were not enough, Chief Justice (CJ) Maria Lourdes Sereno now faces another challenge, her removal from office by quo warranto. What is it and what does it mean? On March 5, Solicitor General Jose Calida filed a 34-page quo warranto petition seeking...

Drowned by Drafts, Reports on Federalism Barely Scratch the Surface of the Subject

CHARTER CHANGE which pushes for a radical shift to a different system of government for the country is a huge and daunting undertaking. Deliberating on the issue of federalism cannot be left to one man, or to legislators or even a council of elders. The discussion needs to...

Delayed Reaction to the Postponement of Barangay Elections

CLEARLY, President Duterte’s strongman style and his determination to silence the opposition and destroy the system of checks and balances in government may have primed the public to simply accept Duterte’s unilateral decision to postpone barangay elections – twice. The media reported the two earlier postponements as though...

Battle of Sources: Confusion on CJ Sereno’s Leave

WAS IT a wellness leave or an indefinite one? Scheduled or forced? The legal team of Supreme Court Chief Justice (CJ) Maria Lourdes Sereno announced on February 27 that she was taking her wellness leave 12 days earlier than scheduled. Sereno’s spokesperson, lawyer Jojo Lacanilao, said she decided...

Explaining Sereno’s Impeachment

CHEERS TO TV5’s Aksyon for a brief explainer on the impeachment case against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. The explainer came after the House Committee on Justice concluded its five-month-long hearing on the case. In a three-minute report on February 27, anchor Ed Lingao presented a case digest...

Frigate Hearing: Threads worth Exploring

CHEERS TO Rappler for capturing salient points during the Senate probe on the Frigates Acquisition Project (FAP) of the Philippine Navy. The hearing was conducted Monday, February 19, following the controversy about the alleged intervention of Bong Go, Special Assistant to the President. Reports in primetime newscasts and the three...