This Week in Media (February 21 to 25, 2022)
THE ELECTION campaign is now in full swing, but news coverage led with challenges confronting ordinary Filipinos this week.
Journalists picked up the distress calls from different sectors: public utility vehicle drivers, farmers and fisherfolk requesting fuel subsidies amid rising oil prices; overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong who are falling ill of COVID-19, some of them already terminated from service by their employers; and healthcare workers calling for justice after Dr. Maria Natividad Castro, a doctor serving far-flung communities in Mindanao, was arrested on spurious kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges. Some OFWs in Ukraine have requested repatriation after Russia’s invasion of the country, although others chose to stay to continue providing for their families. Coverage of these issues was mostly on the response of government agencies concerned.
The Philippine Star reported as banner story that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has frozen the bank accounts of 16 member-organizations of the National Democratic Front, following their designation as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council. In a statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) called the freezing “ridiculous,” as the groups identified operate underground and have no bank accounts. The CPP said AMLC’s move endangers legally-organized groups that have been similarly tagged as terrorists.
These recent events are indicative of weak government and its slow or absent response to groups in need who are mostly left with insufficient or delayed assistance. The news about CPP and leftist groups reflect the Duterte administration’s flawed approach toward security, its misplaced priorities and policy failures that have characterized its past six years in power.
Moving through his last few months in office, the President announced preparations for his move out of Malacanang Palace. One of his final appointments is that of Rizalina Justol, a former Davao City accountant, as chief of the Commission on Audit. Justol replaces Michael Aguinaldo, whose term ended on February 2. Print and online news recalled that in 2010, Justol, along with Duterte, faced plunder and malversation charges for alleged misuse of public funds. CNNPhilippines.com said it was unclear what happened to the complaint. Karlo Nograles, acting spokesperson of Duterte, assured the media that all appointments will be vetted by the Commission on Appointments.
On the week of the People Power anniversary, the government’s reckless treatment of human rights followed the same pattern of state actions in violation of rights and freedom which through the years have driven Filipinos to protest on the streets.
Sidelining EDSA
There was no official observance of the 36th anniversary of the events on EDSA, following Duterte’s displeasure with everything relating to People Power. In an ironic twist, the son of the dictator ousted in 1986 is now running for president, even topping the surveys.
Sadly, media have followed Duterte’s doing little to counter the revisionist narratives being peddled by the Marcoses and echoed by the Dutertes. This week, print and online news sites featured first-hand accounts of Martial Law survivors in the opinion section, with little in the news pages to supplement the recollections by columnists.
CMFR had criticized the media’s overall inadequacy in challenging the lies peddled by the Marcos family, with only a few news organizations daring to challenge or fact-check false claims. This responsibility to reveal the truth of past events could not be more crucial with this year’s elections underway. Unfortunately, most media treated EDSA with perfunctory reports of what happened during its four days, with little meaning and context of what these meant.
Six Manila-based broadsheets featured Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as banner story on February 25. On the same date, The Manila Times, the Daily Tribune and the Manila Standard had no stories on EDSA.
CMFR cheered ANC’s interview with Gideon Javier, the son of EDSA hero Evelio Javier. As his story of sacrifice is not as widely known, CMFR encourages more recollections like it.
COVID-19 updates
Media reported that Metro Manila mayors have submitted to the IATF a recommendation to lower the region’s Alert Level from 2 to 1. Reports quoted sources from the business sector supporting this proposal, but healthcare workers and medical professionals expressed disagreement, particularly with the campaign period ongoing.
This exchange between the two sectors is nothing new. And media have done little to cut through and find sources that will analyze the dilemma with a more balanced approach. COVID-19 is both a health and economic issue, not one or the other.
Media reported that as of February 24, the IATF had revised metrics for alert level systems, which will be used in determining alert level classifications on March 1.
Meanwhile, the business sections of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Manila Bulletin reported the statement of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III that the next president would have to shoulder the debt that the country incurred due to COVID-19. Both reports said Dominguez did not confirm that taxes would have to be raised. Media would do well to check whether any candidate has anything to say about this challenge.
Elections
Unlike the first week of the campaign, primetime programs pushed election stories to the second halves of their newscasts. Coverage remains dependent on the campaign trail, with only rare pieces featuring issue-based discussions.
CMFR cheered Bulatlat’s report that looked at the positions of presidential and vice presidential candidates on the Anti-Terrorism Act.
With personalities from the church and religious sectors speaking out and taking their respective positions on their role during the elections, CMFR noted the lack of context about the principle of “separation of church and state,” what it means, what it prohibits and allows. Hopefully, more journalists following the engagement of religious leaders in electoral matters can present the necessary intersect of faith, morals and civic duty.