We will not surrender our freedomsToday, Independence Day, we renew our pledge to serve the people, to continue speaking truth to power, and to guard and defend freedom of the press and of expression from all threats.Read More Covering the PandemicRead more Covering the CoViD-19 Pandemic Why the special treatment for POGOs? WHEN THE government declared the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, many businesses including the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO), were forced to suspend activities. Apparently, however, the proponents of POGOs won’t let those enterprises sit idly for long. And as it have... Chinese buildup amid COVID-19: Little protest from government and media THE PHILIPPINE government did not seem to be aware that China had constructed two research facilities in Kagitingan and Zamora Reefs in the West Philippine Sea, and had established two administrative districts.The first one is in the Spratly Islands, which include the Kalayaan Island Group and are declared Philippine... Editorials assail abuses during lockdown CHEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Manila Standard for editorials calling attention to the strong-arm approach of the government on violators of quarantine regulations, assailing it in the time of the pandemic. The Inquirer’s “Crackdown” on April 28 referred to recent incidents, among them the warrantless arrest of... Muddling through aid distribution mess THE EXTENDED community quarantine (ECQ) has pushed more Filipinos deeper into poverty. The government’s aid has been slow to trickle down and at the rate that things are going, it may not reach those who need it the most in time. On April 2, the government rolled out its... Still on COVID-19: A closer look at DOH mass testing THE COVID-19 pandemic may have caught the world off-guard, but with the right combination of resources and sound policy-making, some countries have addressed the peril more effectively than others. South Korea is often cited as a model in mass testing, without having to impose a strict lockdown. In the... GIA not Gallup Inc.: Parroting dubious surveys PUBLIC OPINION polls are supposed to reflect the people’s sentiments. Thus, polls are an obvious source of information, reviewed and studied by interested parties, like governments, taking their cues from the public pulse. When it comes to the satisfaction levels expressed about government performance, media reports should help the... The news that looks ahead THE PUBLIC has had little guidance about what to expect after the extended lockdown period for Luzon, which was previously set to end on April 30 but is now scheduled to end on May 15. As in previous weeks, media reports have been focused on the count of COVID-19... Focus on the Forgotten: Sad state of the NCMH MEDIA COVERAGE of the pandemic has rightly placed medical professionals and all health care workers front and center in the news. The group’s vulnerability to the disease is obvious as they provide key services and hold the first line of defense against the spread of the disease. Cheers to... Prison outbreak: PCIJ report warns of risk of COVID-19 contagion in the jail system CHEERS TO the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for a report posted on April 10 warning of the imminent spread of COVID-19 in one of “the most crowded correctional systems in the world.” Overcrowding Arrests have spiked since the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon.... The importance of information in time of pandemic CMFR CHEERS Cielito Habito for deftly detecting a failure in the government approach to fight COVID-19. From the start of the crisis, none of the public officials seemed inclined to harness the power of information technology to solve fundamental problems orenhance the effectiveness of its responses. His column in... « Previous1…6667686970…202Next »
