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 Who will Rebuild Marawi? President’s Blame Game Escapes Media Lens THE MARAWI SIEGE left a trail of death, destruction and destitution in the city in 2017. Nearly two years after the radical Islamist Maute group laid siege on the country’s only recognized Islamic City, it is still in ruins, with over 12,000 families still displaced from their homes. In... Duterte in Beijing Again: Little Info, Less Analysis FOLLOWING THE magnitude 6.1 earthquake that rocked parts of Luzon and Visayas, President Rodrigo Duterte’s attendance in the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing from April 25 to 27 did not generate too much media attention, and for that reason, the visit did not hold much public interest. The... Silent on Local Polls: TV Still Hot on the National Campaign Trail, Puff Pieces Still Dominate Print THE LOCAL campaign kickoff on March 29 helped increase election-related reports, but brought little improvement to the reportage on the campaign. Most of the reports on TV were still on the campaign sorties of the candidates for the Senate, with little focus on local elections and candidates across the... Media on the Quakes: Missing the Science of It ON APRIL 22, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Luzon, its epicenter in Castillejos, Zambales, resulting in 18 fatalities and PHP505 million worth of infrastructure damage. The following day, a temblor with 6.5 magnitude struck in Eastern Samar with its epicenter in the municipality of San Julian and... Just Another Tall Tale: Covering the “Matrix” Story IN ITS April 22 banner story “OUST-DUTERTE PLOT BARED” (all caps supplied), The Manila Times alleged that a “coordinated media campaign” involved journalists in a plot to destabilize the Duterte regime. By-lined by Dante Ang, the newspaper’s chairman emeritus (and Duterte’s Special Envoy for International Affairs) and using only... “Tokhang-Style” Negros Killings: Reports Miss Violence as Policy THE POLICY of violence was lost in the reporting of the death of 14 farmers in Negros Oriental. Joint operations conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Public Safety Battalion, Special Action Force, the local PNP and the Philippine Army on March 30 killed 14 allegedly “hardcore criminals.”... SC Orders Release of “Drug War” Records but Media Attention Wanes THE SUPREME Court (SC) ordered the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to release police records documenting President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” on April 2. In an unexpected turn of events, the Court also directed the OSG to furnish copies to the Center for International Law (CenterLaw) and... PCIJ Investigates Dutertes’ Wealth THE STATEMENT of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) has been a reliable means of determining the honesty of government officials and employees — a way of tracking corruption during the terms of office served by those appointed or elected to government positions. Accomplished under oath by a public... Rappler Checks Fine Print on China Loans WITH THE promise of accelerated economic growth, the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build program has allocated PHP8 trillion for infrastructure. But halfway through the Duterte presidency, much remains to be seen regarding the program’s implementation. As with any government project, funding must be of primary concern for anyone who... Limited Choices: Media on Unopposed Candidates CHEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Rappler for reporting on the number of unopposed candidates for local posts, again shedding light on a phenomenon common during Philippine elections, which effectively perverts the democratic purpose of elections. The Inquirer reported on March 29 a total of 414 unopposed candidates,... « Previous1…7879808182…202Next »
