PR in Op-Eds

JEERS TO three major newspapers for publishing opinion articles that seemed to have been based on press releases. They not only used the same words; they also served the same interests.

Opinion columns in the The Philippine Star, Malaya Business Insight and Business Mirror, which appeared in their June 28, 29 and 30 issues, respectively, claimed that a government-affiliated development company was sabotaging the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with a private company, in connection with the conversion of Camp John Hay in Baguio. (“Belligerent Stance“; “BCDA’s Casanova destroys PPP program“; “PPP project goes haywire“)

A news blog on Camp John Hay pointed out that not only was the wording of the arguments in all three pieces similar; they were also biased against the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). (“The Exact Same Words“, July 3, 2015)

The BCDA, as mentioned in the articles, had been partners with Camp John Hay Development Corporation (CJHDevCo) in the conversion and development of the former military base for 18 years. However, the two parties accused each other of violating the lease agreement. The court ruled  that CJHDevCo must return the Camp to BCDA, so long as the latter pays P1.42B in rent payments.

Neither complied, the articles said.

The columns provided details that did not appear in news reports, and used these to support their pro-CJHDevCo arguments. This is in spite of the fact that even opinion pieces must be based on verified facts for them to be credible.

All three columns reported that the BCDA sent “20 armed guards” to reoccupy the Camp, to which the CJHDevCo has already laid claim.

The supposed display of force prompted CJHDevCo to seek police help, said the columns, but, they alleged, the police are “being pressured to look the other way.”

They also alleged that the BCDA has resorted to installing illegal jumpers after failing to pay  electricity charges.

“BCDA had refused to settle its delinquent electricity bills for five VOA [Voice of America] cottages occupied by its officers,” said all three columns. They also claimed that BCDA head Arnel Paciano Casanova was one of the owners of a cottage in the Camp..

Nowhere in the columns was the BCDA response to these claims cited.

A previous CMFR review reported a similar situation wherein four columnists used the exact same words in some parts of their pieces on the sin tax bill in 2012. (“Media and Sin Tax bill: Mostly focused on Policy Issues“, Dec. 21, 2012) One of them was the Malaya columnist mentioned in this report who was identified in Rappler’s 2012 report. (“4 columnists exposed for similar sin tax articles“, Nov. 15, 2012)