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 Spotlight on SolGen Calida: The Legal Escape IN AN ironic twist of fate, it is now Solicitor General Jose Calida’s turn to stand in the spotlight of public scrutiny. Retired businesswoman Jocelyn Acosta-Nisperos filed charges of graft, malversation and misconduct against Calida before the Office of the Ombudsman on May 10. The charges stemmed from... Seeing the Unclear: What Constitutes a Diplomatic Protest AS PUBLIC outcry mounts over the Philippine government’s silence on China’s continuing presence and militarization in the West Philippine Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano insists that the Duterte administration prefers a quiet approach over “megaphone diplomacy.” In a briefing by the National Task Force for West... From Koko to Tito: Media Ignores the Politics behind the Change in Senate Leadership REPORTERS LEARN quickly to read the politics behind every move in Congress. But coverage of the change in Senate leadership last week has been strangely silent on what really made it happen. On May 21, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel stepped down as the Senate President – a post... Marawi Year One: Some Notable Reports THE FIRST year anniversary of the siege of Marawi occasioned several reports and specials aired in primetime newscasts from May 21 to May 27. These included a chronology of the country’s longest urban warfare and specials which picked up on thematic concerns in the aftermath of war. CMFR... Biased Reporting on National ID System Downplays Perils ACCORDING TO its proponents, the proposed “One for All” ID system will streamline government transactions, making government services more accessible to holders. But there are legitimate concerns about security of data and privacy that need to be addressed. By merely following the progress of the bill through the... Amplifying Women’s Voices CHEERS TO online news site Rappler and ABS-CBN 2’s Bandila for amplifying the voice of women against the misogynistic tirades and sexist comments of President Rodrigo Duterte. While most media ignored the social media campaign #BabaeAko (I am a woman) when this was launched May 20, the two... Digging Up Dirt: Investigating Marawi’s Rehabilitation Plans A YEAR after the Maute group laid siege to the Islamic city of Marawi in Lanao del Sur, and more than six months after the end of the fighting, there are still some 3,000 residents of the city displaced in temporary shelters in evacuation centers where they have lived... Departing from the Chorus on Chinese Loans SINCE THE first year of the Duterte administration, the news has faithfully reported every glowing claim made by the president about the bounty to expect from China’s pledged loans and grants for the government’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) infrastructure program. More recently, Duterte emphasized China’s crucial role... Sereno’s SALN: Overlooked and Underreported in the Media ALTHOUGH MARIA Lourdes Sereno has been removed from her position as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (SC), the media has failed to clarify the actual charges against her and whether this has been proven in either forum in which her fitness for office has been questioned. An... Calling Out the Failure to Respond to Chinese Bombers in the South China Sea SILENCE CAN be louder than sound itself. On May 18, Chinese strategic bombers, including the top-of-the-line H-6K, had been reported to conduct take-off and landing exercises on Woody Island, China’s largest base in the Paracel island chain in the South China Sea. This development comes two weeks after... « Previous1…9394959697…204Next »