Monitors: Print
Hearing just one voice
Was it an oversight or a simple case of bias?
In a story on July 20 (“One Voice has P252-M advertising ‘war chest’”), Manila Standard Today quoted Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonio as saying that the anti-Charter change group, One Voice, was ready to spend up to P252 million to stop moves to amend the Constitution and “stifle democracy.” Further showing that the group was suspiciously well-funded, the pro-administration legislator said that One Voice’s television commercials were produced by the well-established advertising company Campaigns and Grey.
Nothing wrong with using loaded quotes from a news source, but Standard Today did not even try to confirm Antonio’s claim and get the side of One Voice or Campaigns and Grey.
The paper also printed the views of Cha-cha advocate Jose Abueva who criticized a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing an increase in the number of Filipinos against Cha-cha. Abueva, former chair of the government-backed Consultative Commission on Charter Change and a former SWS trustee, claimed that the survey used a biased question to hurt the Cha-cha campaign. He expressed surprise that Mahar Mangahas, SWS executive director, “would risk SWS’s good name by using such a biased question on a sensitive political issue.”
Again, neither SWS nor Mangahas was asked for a reaction.
Can’t beat City Hall
Is Manila Bulletin taking sides in the Liberal Party (LP) leadership struggle?
Reporting on the swearing-in of new LP members in Cavite (“5,000 new LP members sworn in,” July 10), the Bulletin said the induction was part “of the continuing efforts to strengthen the party nationwide under a new leadership.” It referred to Manila Mayor Jose “Lito” L. Atienza Jr. as the LP president.
The paper noted that on July 9 last year, Atienza “denounced as a ‘misrepresentation’ the action of Senate President Franklin M. Drilon withdrawing support from President Arroyo and her duly elected government without consulting party members.” It was Drilon’s move that supposedly led to the election of a new set of LP officers which “truly reflected the genuine sentiments of its members.”
The report did not get the side of Drilon and other LP members not allied with Atienza.
In its July 4 headline, “Two killed in riot,” Mindanao Daily Mirror violated a cardinal rule in reporting about incidents involving minors: it identified the 13-year-old gang member who was killed during the riot.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer’s “Talk of the Town” section, on the other hand, presented a discussion on teaching adolescents about sexuality. It explained the need for sex education and gave space to the position taken by those who drafted the controversial lesson plan (“Sex education in public schools: ‘Reproductive health needs of adolescents largely ignored’,” July 9).
Applause for achievement
Stories on the achievements of people from indigenous groups rarely see print in newspapers or get aired on television. But the Philippine Daily Inquirer went out of the box and published an inspiring story about the first law graduate from the Aeta tribe (“Law grad gives new meaning to ‘Aeta’,” July 5). A “story of triumph over discrimination,” the article recounted how an Aeta woman, Wyda Cosme, managed to finish college and contribute positively to her community.
A forgotten angle
While many reports dwelt on the controversy behind the takeover of the Masinloc power plant in Zambales, the Philippine Daily Inquirer focused on what Masinloc residents thought about the project and its effects on their health, environment, safety, livelihood, and well-being (“Controversy-ridden coal power plant splits townsfolk,” June 24). The Inquirer provided a comprehensive background on the Masinloc power plant deal in a sidebar story.
Those stars and stripes
It takes time and exemplary bravery before men in uniform get their stars. But media do not seem to give importance to the process, often promoting and demoting officers with the stroke of a pen.
Take for example The Philippine Star. In its July 8 story “Senga gets coup report,” it referred to Col. Januario Caringal as a brigadier general. In another story, the Star identified former Magdalo rebels 1st Lt. Lawrence San Juan as a captain and Capt. Nathaniel Rabonza, a 1st lieutenant.
Juicy story, dry in the details
The Daily Tribune made an unsubstantiated accusation in its report about former beauty queen Joelle Pelaez, her mother Blanquita, and Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson (“Chavit’s hand seen in Pelaezes’ ‘escape’,” July 13). According to the front-page article, the Pelaezes—who accused former President Joseph Estrada of being involved in money-laundering activities—were able to “sneak out of the country” with the help of Singson.
The Pelaezes left abroad after filing charges against Estrada. The report said the older Pelaez left on board a private plane reportedly owned by Singson. The Ilocos governor was not asked if he really owned the plane and if he had a hand in the departure of the Pelaezes.
The Daily Tribune blamed Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for the “escape” of the Pelaezes. The headline story printed all the accusations of Estrada’s lawyer Rufus Rodriguez against the older Pelaez, an alleged “convicted felon” in 2003 who should not be allowed to leave the country. The story did not have a single quote from Gonzalez.
Reporting a what-must-have-been
The Daily Tribune concluded that a dinner hosted by Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Malacañang was “all it took to woo the bishops” and get them to go against moves to impeach the President (“CBCP dumps impeach after Palace dinner-meet,” July 11).
In its headline report, the paper noted that the Palace dinner happened before the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a pastoral statement that said it was not in favor of impeachment as a way of searching for the truth.
Citing anonymous sources, the Tribune insinuated that the bishops were influenced to craft the statement in Malacañang’s favor. But the paper did not say what the talks during the Palace dinner were all about. CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo was quoted as saying that he was not among those invited to the dinner and he did not know what was discussed in the meeting. It should be noted that CPCB pastoral letters during plenary sessions are deliberated and decided on by the bishops as a collegial body.
Seeing far into the future
With all the hype that attended the showdown between Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao and Mexican Oscar Larios on July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum, the last thing one would expect from the newspapers would be a wrong headline about the much-awaited fight. Yet on July 2, The Daily Tribune did the unexpected—its story had the title, “Pacquiao, Morales camps predict victory.” Pacquiao’s match against Erik Morales is scheduled on Nov. 18 yet.
Unnecessary tags
Just how important are labels? The Philippine Star’s June 30 story about the case of a murdered entrepreneur should give readers some food for thought.
The story’s lead went: “Police announced yesterday the solution of the murder of a Chinese businesswoman with the arrest of five members of a robbery gang composed of Muslim youths.”
The crime had nothing to do with the young suspects’ religion. The story simply perpetuates a negative stereotype of Muslims. It would also be appropriate to wonder before describing anyone as a “Chinese” if the person is actually a Filipino of Chinese descent or a naturalized citizen, and therefore, a Filipino. Remove the words “Chinese” and “Muslim” from the story and what’s lost? Nothing, except a stereotype.
Not just loose change
Last July 4, Malaya came out with an interesting story on something that is commonly considered as useless in daily financial transactions—the Philippine coin.
The report said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is planning to redesign the seldom-used one, five, 10, and 25 centavo coins in the hope of boosting their circulation. The poor circulation of the coins has become costly to the government because the BSP has to produce more coins, which is more expensive, to meet the demand for these.
Malaya also explained the concept of seigniorage—the difference between a coin’s face value and the cost of producting and distributing it. A negative seigniorage, which low-value coins have, means the Central Bank is not earning from the production of the coins.
Clint said it
Malaya’s July 3 headline was misleading (“Tito dared: ‘Make my day’”). It implied that Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, to whom the statement was attributed, wanted former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. to push through with his threat to launch a civil disobedience campaign so he could file criminal charges against the opposition leader.
Guingona’s call for civil disobedience was premised on the assumption that the impeachment complaints filed at the House of Representatives would be prematurely junked again. The justice secretary said the move would be tantamount to inciting to sedition.
The quotation attributed to Gonzalez—“Make my day”—did not even appear in the story because he never said it.
Who’s that again?
On June 27, Malaya’s front-page photograph had Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo giving Pope Benedict XVI a folder containing the bill abolishing the death penalty in the Philippines. The photo’s caption said the President was being welcomed at the airport by Vatican Secretariat of State Archbishop Frambo.
Covering all angles
From July 9 to 11, The Manila Times ran special reports on medical malpractice, focusing on the provisions of the Patient’s Rights Bill filed before the House of Representatives. The series looked at the legal, medical, and financial facets of the issue, including the problems hounding medical malpractice bills.
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