Journalism Review Archives | Page 99 of 159

Tokhang Re-launched: What the Public Needs to Know

THE PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) has re-launched Oplan Tokhang for the third time on Monday, January 29. The program has moved back and forth between the jurisdiction of the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). (“A Game of Musical Chairs: Drug War Back to PDEA”) President...

Palace Intervention?

IN DECEMBER 2017, media reported the unceremonious firing of Vice Admiral Ronald Mercado as Navy Chief due to “insubordination.” According to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana: “As the Secretary of Defense, I have lost trust and confidence in his integrity and leadership. I question his intention behind his fixation...

The Rappler-SEC Ruling: Corporate Issues, Politics and Press Freedom

Corporate Check BREAKING NEWS carried the basics of a case that has since drawn the attention of international media and the global watchdogs of press freedom. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that Rappler violated constitutional restrictions on ownership of mass media.On January 15, ANC and CNN...

Media Notes Lapses in Disaster Response

AS THE year drew to a close, two typhoons, Urduja (Kai-tak) and Vinta (Tembin) barreled through Mindanao. The first made landfall in Eastern Samar on December 16 and left with 47 reported dead and damage reaching PHP 2.8 billion. Vinta blew in shortly after; making landfall on Davao...

No Deaths, Only Injuries: Checking the “Zero-Casualty” Claim

Screen grab from GMA News official YouTube channel “VERY MINIMAL, hindi na namin actually pinresent kasi wala naman tayong casualty.” This was how Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald dela Rosa described stray bullet incidents during the New Year’s day celebrations. During the PNP press briefing on “Ligtas Paskuhan 2017”...

NCCC Mall blaze: Whose Fault and Failure?

Screen grab from 24 Oras official YouTube channel THE NIGHTMARE before Christmas day began at 9:30 in the morning of December 23, as a blaze swept through the third floor of Davao City’s New City Commercial Center (NCCC) Mall which housed a call center, Survey Sampling International (SSI). The outbreak of...

Without a Quorum: TRAIN Railroaded into Law

WITH OR without the distractions of December, Congress has always had to deal with empty seats. But the absent members of Congress stand out on certain occasions, as they did when Congress railroaded the passage of TRAIN. The almost empty hall did not deter the passage of the...

No Election Scenario: Media’s Critical Analysis Required

THE NO-election scenario floated by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez in an interview on ANC on January 3 was reported in the evening news programs without much comment. TV reports were limited to the view of the Duterte administration and the statements made by three leading officials of President...

The Dengvaxia Debacle: The Volatile Mix of Politics, Health and a Failure of Science

ON NOVEMBER 29, France-based pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur posted on their website a warning about the risks of their anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia. Citing new findings, the company said: “For those not previously infected by dengue virus, however, the analysis found that in the longer term, more cases of...

Enough Echoing the PNP’s Press Releases

With so many questions left unanswered about the number of killings in the course of President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, some etched in the public mind for their horror and violence, the media should be hounding the police for the facts about these cases and those that the Philippine...