This Week in Media (October 18 to 22, 2021)
COVID-19, human rights violations still issues of concern
THE END of the period for the filing of certificates of candidacy has reduced some of the excitement over who’s filing for what elective post. Coverage has reverted to routine, which unfortunately requires following the declared presidential candidates as they announce their senatorial slates. The shared candidates among parties include numerous long time politicos, some already known as “trapos.” But there are independents who deserve publicity, and media should not forget that they offer voters real options, which in itself is newsworthy.
The Comelec announced that around 95 percent of those who have filed COCs will be declared “nuisance candidates,” and that it will release the final list by December. Some online reports said the Comelec is holding a voting simulation in San Juan City on October 23 to show how the electoral process will proceed under pandemic conditions.
Reports followed other ongoing issues. Senator Richard Gordon reported on October 19 the partial findings of the Senate’s probe of Pharmally and the Blue Ribbon Committee’s recommendation that charges be filed against executives of the company and government officials involved in the scandal. Calling the case a “grand conspiracy,” Gordon said that it could not have happened without Duterte’s approval and involvement.
On another front, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced on October 21 that it has filed new diplomatic protests over China’s illegal radio warnings that it sends to Philippine vessels sailing through or stationed within the Philippines’ national territory.
With less to cover on the political front, media this week shifted their attention to pandemic conditions and the continuing threats to public health and safety. The virus continues to threaten lives and the abuse of citizens by state forces is unabated.
Unfortunately, media missed highlighting the attempt by Ombudsman Samuel Martires to restrict access to SALNs , as well as public commentary to what these documents hold which the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) revealed during the week. So far, the coverage has failed to meet journalism’s inherent obligation to hold power to account by, in this instance, getting the documents on the wealth amassed by public officials during their terms of office.
Corruption and access to information
The press has not responded significantly to PCIJ’s revelation on October 18.
that Ombudsman Samuel Martires recommended more restrictions not only on public and media access to the SALNs of government officials but also to jail anyone commenting onthem. These were in Martires’ draft of amendments to the SALN law he submitted to Congress.
Except for the Inquirer and Manila Standard, Manila broadsheets picked up the news but only cited Martires’ defense of his proposal. On TV, only ABS-CBN reported the issue, citing the criticism of the Right to Know, Right Now Coalition and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) about the vagueness of the proposed provisions.
Rappler and CNN Philippines online cited critical responses, including the NUJP’s protest. Lawyer Theodore Te also observed that the Office of the Ombudsman broke “its silence only to ask Congress to reduce transparency, access and accountability.”
The media seem oblivious to the egregious offense embodied in these proposed amendments, perhaps because some journalists are not sufficiently informed about the mandate of the ombudsman. Clearly, making it more difficult for the media and the public to see for themselves what assets public officials have contradicts the objective of that office to monitor public sector corruption.
The pandemic front
With the downgrading of the alert level in Metro Manila, reports noted an apparent increase in the number of people going to public areas and establishments. Journalists took note of increased vehicular traffic, more people eating out in restaurants, and even trooping to the infamous dolomite beach.
Health officials expressed alarm about this mass mobility. Despite the downward trend in the number of COVID-19 cases, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III warned against public gatherings which even with the strict observance of restrictions are potential superspreaders likely to cause another surge.
But the government has continued to confuse with its messaging, as public officials do not seem to discuss and clarify even for themselves what policies are in force. The Palace announced that the same Alert Level System in NCR will be adopted in provinces from October 20 to 31. However, local chief executives told the media that they had not been consulted, and are asking that the implementation be postponed to November.
After seven months, even the much-touted vaccination program is hounded by contradictions. Vaccine “czar’ Carlito Galvez, Jr. confirmed in a report to the IATF that the supply is now sufficient, but he left actual implementation plans ambiguous at best.
Reporting on the data to establish actual coverage and the pace of the program, Edson Guido, who heads ABS-CBN’s Data Analytics, called for much needed context. His social media post on October 20 pointed to the government’s misleading data presentation, such as the tendency not to give the denominator when reporting the percentage of vaccine coverage. Guido said the difference between target population for herd immunity and total population should be considered.
In a separate report, he also said that testing should be increased, and that the government should find cases more actively if it wants to reopen the economy safely.
Media picked up problems faced by hospitals as the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. reported the resignation of nurses as up to 10 percent.
Unfortunately, media report these in separate accounts, failing to establish the counter-narrative that should require the government to review its policy to open the economy without adequate measures to protect public health.
Drug war and police violations
The Department of Justice released on October 20 a summary of its probe into 52 drug war cases. The report debunked the narrative of resisting arrest or “nanlaban” that the police have resorted to in explaining the killing of drug suspects. But upon examination, media raised questions about the value of the report.
They pointed out that most of the policemen involved in drug killings based on “nanlaban” were merely dismissed or suspended and were not charged or tried.
It also noted that 52 cases are a miniscule number out of the thousands reported killed by the police.
Journalists also pointed out that no officer was immediately charged despite the strong evidence on hand, because the DOJ endorsed its findings to the National Bureau of Investigation for case buildup, delaying the process indefinitely.
The admissions may just be an attempt to distract public attention from what is still a continuing cover up. Reports cited human rights groups, lawyers’ groups and the Commission on Human Rights which observed that the report barely scratched the surface of state-sanctioned killings.
Media should not let this issue die, especially as they continue to pick up cases showing police brutality even in the cases of quarantine violators. CMFR’s For the Record noted a pattern of such violence in cases from July to October 2021.
The court’s acquittal of policemen involved in the killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa was also reported, but journalists should check if this acquittal also involves a pattern of impunity in what police agents can do in the course of Duterte’s “war on drugs” and his other “wars” such as those against critics and dissenters.
Media cannot miss the larger picture of criminal violence on the part of state agents or fail to call attention to how physical assaults and abuse have become embedded in police practice, whether when dealing with drug dealers and addicts, or activists and quarantine violators. The silence on the part of journalists makes them complicit in the state’s continuing assaults on its citizens that constitute, plainly and unquestionably, crimes against humanity.
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