Monitors

Hide-and-seek with the military
For evading and shutting out almost all media in a very important coverage last April 12, both the Philippine Daily Inquirer (“AFP clears four generals: Top brass avoid media, release report on gov’t TV,” April 13) and the Big News put to task Vice-Admiral Mateo Mayuga.
Mayuga disclosed the contents of his much-awaited report on the involvement of the military in the alleged cheating in the 2004 elections to government channel NBN-4.
The Inquirer and the Big News questioned the timing and man-ner of Mayuga’s presentation, and rightly so. The press and the public have been waiting for the Mayuga report since it was reportedly concluded last December.
Eight days after the report was made public, The Philippine Star came out with an article that explained what classified docu-ments meant under military regulations. It underscored the constitutional principle of supremacy of civilian authority over the military which, according to Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, could be used to demand full disclosure of the report.

The Star and Manila Bulletin could not decide what the rank of Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, one of the generals linked to the 2004 election cheating in Mindanao, really is. Both broadsheets addressed Habacon as either lieutenant general or major general. The Inquirer referred to Habacon as a lieutenant general.
The Daily Tribune had an even more glaring error. In its April 11 report, the paper said one of the four generals investigated in the Mayuga report was Gen. Tirso Danga, former head of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and now Western Command chief. Danga was not among the four generals mentioned in the “Hello, Garci” tapes and linked to the 2004 poll cheating.

One-source news
The daily Tribune swallowed the allegations of Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos that grease money from the illegal game masiao would be used to fund the Cha-cha campaign (“GMA: CBCP now backing Cha-cha,” April 18). It neither sought corroboration from another independent source nor tried to get Malacañang’s reaction.

Express Balita (IBC-13) and Teledyaryo (NBN-4) left no doubt that both are government-supervised networks. Reporting on accusations that the contingency fund in last year’s budget would be used for Cha-cha, Express Balita on April 3 interviewed only administration legislators who denied the claims. On the same day, Teledyaryo featured the side of Malacañang on the issue. No Cha-cha critic was asked for a reaction.

The Manila Times columnist Dan Mariano criticized media for irresponsible reporting and gave reporters tips on how to do their jobs properly. He said: “Journalists of a more investigative bent would have approached such a rare opportunity more carefully. Not unlike detectives, they would have tried to verify the tip on the alleged Horizon operation, staked out the place, canvassed hotel employees and pounced on the culprits when they had little or no chance to make denials. (“Bum steer in Mandaluyong,” April 3). The criticism was well-deserved. On March 29, the press reported that filled-up signature forms for the people’s initiative campaign were brought to the Horizon Hotel in Mandalu-yong upon the orders of Rolando Acosta, a director at the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). Acosta denied this, saying he only visited a friend billeted at the hotel. Speaking to reporters two days later, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno challenged media to search the hotel for any illegal activity or signature forms on the people’s initiative. He blasted the media for not checking the tip carefully before writing about it in the newspapers.

No-source news
The Tribune set aside objectivity when it described DILG personnel allegedly behind the Cha-cha signature campaign as “Malacañang’s poll cheating operators.”  The paper based its account (“DILG operators caught faking Cha-cha ‘Yes’ vote”, March 31) on unverified reports.

For those who want the news
The philippine Daily Inquirer devoted two consecutive “Talk of the Town” specials on Charter change. The paper explained the people’s initiative process based on the Initiative and Referendum Act (Republic Act No. 6735), inputs from the Commission on Elections, as well as some of the amendments contained in the petition by pro-Cha Cha groups (“The ABCs of a people’s initiative,” April 9). A week after, the paper ran an article written by Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban in 1998 for a book when he was still an associate justice, explaining his stand on people’s initiative. In the 1997 Supreme Court ruling on the signature campaign of the People’s Initiative for Reform, Modernization and Action (Pirma), Panganiban cast a dissenting vote (“Revisiting the SC ruling on Pirma”).

Readers can go to the ABS-CBN news website for a running account of the Cha-cha issue. A special section in the site, “Charter Change Pressed”, carries the latest news as well as a timeline of and laws related to Cha-cha (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/images/news/microsites/chacha/chacha_new.htm).

Thanks for noticing
The Manila Times and the Big News immediately noted that the sequel to the Malacañang video documentary, “Sabwatan sa Kataksilan,” had nothing new to offer, except the appearance of its “surprise witness”—Magdalo leader Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala. It was a rehash of the first documentary about the alleged conspiracy between the Communist Party of the Philippines and the rebel soldiers to topple the Arroyo administration. In its report, the Times also published the denials of Magdalo and CPP-NPA about the alleged alliance (“Rightists, leftists deny ‘starring’ in video,” April 12, p. A1).

Saksi was the only news program that provided information and update about Gambala. It reminded viewers that the detained Army captain was the acknowledged Magdalo leader who apologized to Pre-sident Arroyo for the Oakwood mutiny in September 2004 and one of the signatories of a manifesto of sup-port for the President the following year. It was a short back-ground about Gam-bala, but enough to give context to the report.

Singing glory to Gloria
What does it mean to be a government station?
On April 5, Teledyaryo gave a disheartening answer. Functioning not just as a government program delivering the news, it also played the multiple roles of press relations machinery, events manager, and overall brown-noser for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. After announcing that it was Mrs. Arroyo’s birthday, the program reported on the President’s itinerary for the day as well as congratulatory messages from administration and opposition personalities. The demonstration of support went on for more than 11 minutes. As if this were not enough, Teledyaryo played the “Maligayang Bati” before going on commercial break. The 30-second birthday song was played during three commercial gaps.

Last April  3, Teledyaryo’s Rafael Dante Cruz pre-sented an editorial that lasted for more than four minutes—a long spiel by television standards. Cruz claimed that the Filipino family was happy and content with the economy and the decrease in the government’s debt and budget deficit.
“Ang nakakalungkot, mga kaibigan,” he said, “lahat ng initiative, sapagkat ito’y mula sa Pangulo, ay may sinasabi ang oposisyon. Para bang tayo ay wala nang ginawang tama. Huwag naman,”he said.
The government station was obviously not content with just reporting the news.

Teledyaryo sought the reaction of Palace officials on the alleged cheating in the 2004 elections that elections commissioner Resur-reccion Borra had confirmed. In its April 4 newscast, Teledyaryo reported that Borra was mis-interpreted by the media. House Minority Leader Francis Escudero was asked for his opinion too but the statements of pro-Arroyo legislators and Cabinet officials drowned this out.

The press highlighted Borra’s admission that there was cheating in the 2004 elections. Only the Manila Bulletin ignored this specific testimony of Borra before the Senate last April 3. The peg used by the Bulletin was the poll commissioner’s statement that he would personally throw out any petition for the validation of voters’ signatures in the ongoing people’s initiative campaign for Charter change (“Borra rejects Comelec valida-tion of people’s initiative,” April 4). Yet, the Bulletin apparently knew all about Borra’s testimony because its inside page had a photograph of Herminigildo Estrella Jr. “during a hearing on wire tapping” at the Senate. Borra testified after Estrella presented an opposition-com-missioned study that showed vote discrepancies in various areas that were allegedly affected by vote-shaving and padding during the elections in 2004.

Seeing something else
The Daily Tribune gave a new twist to the latest Ibon Foundation survey results on the satisfaction ratings of President Arroyo.
The Tribune’s April 12 banner, “Gloria drops to low -75% satisfaction rating—Ibon: 78% against 1017, EO 464 and CPR edicts,” implied that the President’s ratings fell anew. But a closer scrutiny of the survey, conducted from March 16 to 25, showed that the latest results were the same as the January survey.
The report even quoted Ibon research director Antonio Tujan as saying that Arroyo’s “dissatisfaction rating has remained practically the same as last January.” A press release from the Ibon website said the same thing, explaining that Arroyo’s March net satisfaction rating is -74.58%, “almost the same as her net rating of -74.9 last January 2006” (http://70.85.145.34/~ibon/read.php?newsid=215).

It’s all in the hands
Is media reading too much into everything that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo does—or doesn’t do? The Philippine Star played up the fact that the President and former president Fidel Ramos did not hold hands while singing the Lord’s Prayer during a thanksgiving mass officiated last April 1 (“GMA, FVR refrain from joining hands in singing the Lord’s Prayer,” p. 1). An alleged gap has developed between Mrs. Arroyo and Ramos because of differing opinions on how Charter change should proceed.
TV Patrol World Sabado also reported on the occasion and mentioned a supposed “tension” between Arroyo and Ramos. Neither was asked for comment.
Weeks later, during a mass for the President’s birthday in Lubao, Pampanga, media used photographs and videos of Mrs. Arroyo singing the Lord’s Prayer beside her husband Mike. They were not holding hands too, but media did not conclude that there was tension between the First Couple.

Victims twice over
It was a scoop all right, but TV Patrol World went overboard in its coverage of the Jolo bombing last March 27. It used gruesome videos of the victims, including a close-up shot of a victim’s burned skin.

Digging up the mining issue
The Philippine Star published on April 3 a complete report of the Supreme Court ruling affirming the constitutionality of the Phi-lippine Mining Act of 1995 (Republic Act No. 7942). It provided readers adequate information on why the high court arrived at the decision.
While other reports focused on the debates on the constitu-tionality of the Mining Act, the Manila Bulletin highlighted the plea of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) for improved pro-tection of mining industry workers (“TUCP wants mine workers pro-tected,” March 28).
With the high court ruling that the 1995 Mining Act is constitutional, the Philippine Daily Inquirer made sure that the public would not forget the Marcopper mining disaster (“Missing, Despising Marcopper,” April 6) in Sta. Cruz, Marinduque, on March 27, 1997.
The online publication Bulatlat featured dissenting views about mining from the tribes and sectors directly affected by mining operations (“Interfaith Pilgrimage holds rites to oppose mining in Siocon,” http://www.bulatlat.com/news/6-9/6-9-siocon.htm).

Electrifying news
The report about a Meralco proposal to the government that would open up competition in the power sector was a scoop for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. In its April 2 banner, “Meralco monopoly over,” the paper explained the proposed “open access scheme,” which is supposed to create a new market for potential buyers of National Power Corporation (Napocor). Also discussed was the lower time-of-use (TOU) scheme that would pro-vide Napocor customers with flexible hourly rates that are lowest during the off-peak hours.

While most follow-up reports failed to point out the possible repercussions of Meralco’s move, there were exceptions. One example was the April 3 Manila Bulletin report which said that Meralco’s proposal would result in higher electricity fees for consumers (“Higher power rates loom with Meralco’s new tack”).

TV Patrol World reported that Meralco’s move would benefit the consumers without explaining further. Was the report referring to household consumers or large-scale commercial and industrial users? The fact that TV Patrol is the flagship news program of ABS-CBN, which, like Meralco, is also owned by the Lopez family, should have made the people behind the news more careful in handling the issue.

The need for context
The Philippine Star could have improved on its March 23 story, “Banks to conduct own probes on counterfeit dollars, says BSP,” if it informed (and warned) readers where and how fake dollars have penetrated different banks. It also failed to say when the investigation on fake dollars would start.

The Manila Bulletin presented a complete background on Executive Order 514 on biotechnology (“Palace issues EO 514 on biotechnology,” April 16). It informed readers how EO 514 would ensure biotechnology products’ positive impact on human health and the environment. It also stressed the right of people’s organizations and indigenous peoples and communities to participate in the crafting of such policies.

Getting ahead of the story
The manila Bulletin misled readers with its April 2 headline, “GMA supports STL vs. jueteng.” The report was about the President’s visit to Puerto Princesa, where she lauded Mayor Ed Hagedorn’s anti-jueteng efforts.  The mayor’s programs, however, did not include small town lottery. The lottery was only mentioned in the article’s last three paragraphs which only provided back-ground.

By connecting the wrong dots, The Daily Tribune drew the wrong picture in its April 1 story, “GMA stands by Hagedorn on STL’s ‘success’.” Claiming that President Arroyo “virtually endorsed” STL after she clarified that the mayor was still part of the project, the paper later said that “Mrs. Arroyo did not directly mention STL” but was only recognizing Hagedorn’s attempts to provide jobs to former jueteng workers.

After the stampede
Journalists can cover an unpleasant story involving their mother stations without showing bias. TV Patrol World’s Mariton Pacheco proved this during the first preliminary hearing on the Ultra stampede case last March 20. She noted: “Kung dehado ang pakiramdam ng mga abogado ng ABS-CBN, mas lalong dehado ang mga biktima at pamilya nila dahil walang abogado na humarap para sa kanila.” Her report also presented the side of the stampede victims.

While most of the reports on the Ultra stampede focused only on the investigation, 24 Oras and Saksi gave the victims the chance to air their dissatisfaction with the way the hearings were held. The two newscasts reported that some victims could not understand what the lawyers of ABS-CBN were saying because they were spea-king in English.

More ads than sports
Newspapers have been reporting that the Inter-national Basketball Federation (FIBA) risks setting a dangerous precedent if it grants the Philippine Olympic Committee’s (POC) request to expel the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP). The reports never bothered to explain why.
The column of Ronnie Nathanielsz in the Manila Standard Today last April 11 gave a much-needed explanation: If FIBA expelled BAP, it would “under-mine the authority of the international governing body and virtually recognize the power of a national Olympic committee over an international body.”

On March 29, The Daily Tribune was the only paper that reported on the status of the Philippine Basketball Federation Inc. after the POC accepted Pilipinas Basketball’s (PB) by-laws and constitution. The Tribune story said that PBFI remains the POC recognized basketball NSA, while PB awaits FIBA approval.

Overshadowed by the POC delegation’s meeting with FIBA officials in Seoul, South Korea, was the 15th general assembly meeting of the Association of National Olympic Committee (ANOC) which was attended by Philippine sports officials.
What happened during the general assembly, the issues discussed, and the Philippines’s participation in the ANOC was not given space in the local papers.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer editorialized (or exaggerated?) when it reported that FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann “acted like a spoiled brat during a meeting with top POC officials.” There was nothing in the April 6 story that would lead one to conclude that Baumann acted like a spoiled brat.

The Philippine Star was the only newspaper to cover the Philippines’s participa-tion in the New Balance Interna-tional Marathon on March 30-April 2, but the stories gave more emphasis to the race sponsor, New Balance, than the marathon. The sponsor was constantly mentioned in the published reports, which highlighted statements from company officials praising New Balance products, a lineup of the company’s promotional activi-ties, and information where New Balance items could be bought in the Philippines.

Climbing a mountain
GMA-7’s Vicky Morales cut the height of the world’s tallest mountain by almost half when she said that Mt. Everest’s base camp is as tall as our Mount Apo.
Mt. Everest’s base camp is approximately 17,000 feet high, while Mt. Apo, the Philippines’ highest peak, is 9,690 feet high.
The March 27 report also had the wrong information about the Everest climb of Romeo Garduce. It said that mountaineer Garduce was ahead of another group of Filipinos trying to reach the mountain’s peak. The First Philippine Mt. Everest Expe-dition, backed by ABS-CBN, actually reached the base camp five days ahead of Garduce.

Even Mount Everest was not spared from the network war.
GMA-7’s Kapuso Foundation is the benefactor of mountaineer Romeo Garduce’s Everest “Climb for a Cause,” while ABS-CBN is a sponsor of the 15-strong Philip-pine Mt. Everest team, along with Internet giant Mozcom and several other companies.
In covering Garduce’s trek, GMA-7 functioned as a virtual PR and advertising arm.
Instead of reporting other more important sports news, 24 Oras and Saksi on April 4 had local athletes Manny Pacquiao, Sheila Mae Perez, Efren “Bata” Reyes, and some basketball and baseball players posing as well wishers of Garduce.
Two days later, 24 Oras advertised the products of The North Face, a line of clothing designed for extreme weather conditions, which was the official climbing gear provider of Garduce and the GMA-7 staff that went to Nepal to cover the event.

ABS-CBN’s Abner Mercado reported on the political turmoil in Nepal while covering the Philippine Mt. Everest team.
Reporting for the TV Patrol World last April 17, Mercado updated viewers about the political situation in Nepal and how citizens were affected by the unrest, particularly in its capital, Kathmandu.

On April 20, TV Patrol World reported on the exploits of another Filipino attempting to scale Mt. Everest—Dale Abenojar was said to have quietly left the Philippines.
While ABS-CBN closely followed the Philippine Mt. Everest team, it did not leave Abenojar out who said he was climbing the mountain through its more dangerous trail.

But while ABS-CBN took note of Abenojar, it stayed mum on the other Filipino team led by Garduce and, not surprisingly, supported by GMA-7.

In contrast, GMA-7’s 24 Oras quoted Garduce as gallantly saying that he was happy with the presence of another Filipino squad since this would increase the chances of a Filipino reaching the Everest’s peak. The veteran mountaineer said the feat would bring honor to the country, no matter which team reached the peak first.

Jousting with Judas and Jesus
The Manila Standard Today ran a story on the Gospel of Judas which was scheduled to be featured by the National Geographic Channel (“Lost Gospel of Judas on National Geographic,” April 8). Alas, the story was really just a teaser announcing the airing of the documentary.
In its Holy Monday issue, The Philippine Star rode on two controversial religious issues—the Gospel of Judas by the National Geographic and the book The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (“The Gospel of Judas and The Da Vinci Code take back seat to row over people’s initiative,” April 11)—and misled readers in the process. The lead of the story said the two texts “may have been timed to erode the faith of Christians and local Catholics.” But nothing in the report discussed the docu-mentary or the book. It was all about the people’s initiative being pushed by pro-administration local executives who want to change the Constitution.

Not just for Christians
The Philippine Daily Inquirer did a good job when it pointed out that the second week of April was significant for Catholics and Muslims as well (“Feasting for Catholics, feasting for Muslims,” April 10). The Catholic’s observance of the Holy Week coincided with the Maulidian Nabi, an important festivity among Muslims. The article did not only delve on the festivities but also on the peace-making initiatives among Catholics and Muslims.

Anything more on Pacquiao?
The Manila Bulletin story, “Pacquiao-Morales III unlikely?” (March 21), was not just a speculative story. It also had an editorialized content, which could have been avoided with proper attribution. The article said, “If nothing happens in Pacquiao’s scheduled fights this year, blame this (on) so-called matchmakers.” It was not clear if this was the analysis of the writer or the assessment of a boxing aficionado.

The Bulletin report, “Barrera deserves a chance against Pacquiao—Roach,” on March 24 failed to live up to its headline. The writer did not provide any background on the ring record of Barrera. Worse, its lead talked about another boxer, Erik Morales, instead of Barrera.

The exclusive rights of television giant ABS-CBN to the coverage of the upcoming fight between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar Larios might have done something good after all.
While ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol World devoted much of its sports air time to Pacquiao-related stories, GMA 7’s 24 Oras looked for other stories and found lesser-known but widely considered top-tier boxers like Z. Gorres and Czar Amonsot (March 20).

ABS-CBN’s news programs—TV Patrol World and Insider—have become a virtual promotion machinery of the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar Larios bout in July. Its sports segments during primetime and late night news from mid-March until April revolved around Pacquiao’s condition, his new promotions firm (March 23), his latest awards and achievements (March 26 and 27), his opponents (April 11), his tax payment (April 10), and even his latest song (April 5).
Is Pacquiao’s scheduled fight the only sports event of note? Other television sports news programs had reports about swimming, Muay Thai, and baseball during the same period.

Amid the media hype on Pacquiao’s anticipated fight in July and the attempt of two Filipino-led teams to reach the peak of Mount Everest (each covered “exclusively” by ABS-CBN and GMA-7), news programs like Express Balita found time to report on other Filipinos making their mark on less popular sports. The program reported on the victory of Team Philippines in the 3rd Muay Thai Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, where they bagged several gold and bronze medals (March 24). On April 18, it reported Team Philippines’s win against Thailand in the last Southeast Asian Youth Baseball and Softball tournaments.

The Bulletin and The Philippine Star rode on the media hype of the Pacquiao fight and reported on the alleged sky-high ticket prices of the much-anticipated July showdown. Bulletin said ringside seats would cost boxing enthusiasts $1,000 each (“Top tickets at Pacman fight to cost $1,000,” March 28). The information was attributed by the paper to “someone privy to the promotion.” The Star came out with its own report (“Pacman bout ringside tickets cost P25,000, bleacher P1,000,” March 28) and identified the source as one Jo Ramos, a consultant of Pacquiao.
The story was immediately denied by both the Manny Pacquiao Promotions and ABS-CBN. Both companies have yet to decide on the price of the tickets. ABS-CBN said some research has to be done first before ticket prices can be finalized (Star, March 31 and TV Patrol World, April 3).

Who says the  Bulletin just goes for official releases and shuns speculative stories? Quoting international matchmaker Erik Gomez of Golden Boy Promo-tions, the paper reported that a third showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Mexican pug Erik Morales any time soon was a big question mark (“Pacquiao-Morales III unlikely?”, March 26). Gomez himself said, “I’m just speculating.”
The Bulletin missed out on a very important test of accuracy and balance—ask either or both the Pacquiao and Morales camps. The ABS-CBN news website (“3rd fight with Pacquiao all on Morales’ mind,” March 26) did it and got a quotable quote from Morales: “I would suggest to Mr. Gomez and his company that they should worry about their fighters and stay out of my business.”

A half-scoop. That’s what 24 Oras’s “Chika Minute” had on March 21 when it beat rival ABS-CBN in breaking the news about Manny Pacquiao’s hospitalization. Perhaps because of the rush to air the news, the report said Pacquiao was taken to the hospital “due to unknown reasons.” It did not even say where the boxer was confined.
Later that night, Insider came up with the complete story, saying Pacquiao was hospitalized due to an acid build-up caused by fatigue and skipping meals.

Naming victims and suspects
Does a male foreigner enjoy more protection than a Filipina? In a series of photographs that detailed the successful attempt of a Thai national to dissuade his alleged lover from committing suicide, The Manila Times identified the woman but not her “boyfriend.” (“Rappelling ends a suicide attempt,” March 21). Reporting on the same incident, the Philippine Daily Inquirer (“Just in time,” March 21) said men from the Bureau of Fire Protection rescued the woman as “she tried to jump off from the fourth floor of a hotel in Manila on Sunday.”

TV Patrol World displayed insensitivity last March 23 when it used videos of children who were arrested by the police for stealing. The camera focused on the children who were covering their faces even though they were with two adult suspects.

In the Manila Bulletin’s Luzon Newbits section last April 6, three of four articles named minors involved in cri-mes: two were murder suspects, two others were victims of violence while one was arrested for alleged car theft.

Taking potshots at women
There was a whiff of misogyny in the Manila Bulletin article, “Angry wife nearly cuts hubby’s privates,” last March 23. The suspect was described as a nagger who “became furious and attacked her husband when the latter threatened to break up with her.” Not even a romance novel could have come up with a happier ending, though:  “The couple eventually reconciled, with Jose telling his wife that he would love her till the end of time.”

Last March 28, a man was arrested for allegedly taking pictures of women using the escalator in a Cubao mall. TV Patrol World picked up the story and showed the photos which the peeping tom took with his cell phone. The following day, the Bulletin also published one of the cellphone photos without blurring what should have been kept private.

Misleading head
From the headline, “‘Sari-sari’ store by day, condom outlet by night” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 28), a reader is ready to expect a story about a retail store’s interesting operations. But no. The report was really about the population management program of Dauin, a town in Negros Oriental, that addresses the damage to the marine resources caused by the human population boom in the area. According to the report, the rapid increase in population has resulted in over-fishing. Fishing is the main source of food and livelihood in Dauin.

Big no-no!
The Manila Times (“No photos, please”, April 11) published a photo of kidnap victims obviously against the victims’ wishes.

Seeing black in white
The Philippine Daily Inquirer (“Woman killed in Intramuros”, April 3) published a picture of an unidentified woman victim who was described as wearing a black shirt. The victim was actually in a white shirt!

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