 Cheers to the Philippine Daily Inquirer for explaining the state of the economy and its effect on consumers. For its June 6 banner story, the paper consulted several economic experts to discuss the sharp increase in the inflation rate (“Inflation soars to 9.6%: Peso dives below P44 to a dollar as food, fuel costs rise”). The experts cited different scenarios which could occur in the future and discussed its value to the development or worsening of the economy. The Inquirer also explained the consequences of double-digit inflation to the consumers and the over-all financial system. The article explained that if the government is unable to control inflation, then the country would experience a phenomenon called “stagflation” in which “rising prices are aggravated by a stagnant economy brought about by weak spending.” The article also explained the reasons why the government is giving subsidies to the poor.
 Jeers to The Philippine Star for failing to explain the significance of its own lead story. Last June 9, the Star’s “’Hot money’ fleeing RP” reported that portfolio investments “continued to flow out of the financial market” in June. Although it defined what portfolio investments or hot money meant, the Star did not explain the issue’s repercussions on the general public. Given the story’s prominent treatment, the Star could have related the issue to the interest of its readers, some of whom may not understand complex economic matters.
Jeers to the Philippine Daily Inquirer for trying to make a news story out of an old issue. The article “Razon: Bigger story behind Lozada story” repeated the statements by government officials on the abduction of the national broadband network (NBN)-Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Company Ltd. controversy witness Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. (May 17, p. A1). It claimed that it was the police that saved Lozada’s life and that, despite his own denials, he had sought police protection.
The Inquirer did not press Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon to explain what he meant when he said: “There are things about it (the Lozada incident) that I cannot yet reveal.” The article pursued an obvious government spin by solely relying on the allegations of Razon and by not asking pertinent questions. Some “issues” the government claimed were relevant at the time, such as the alleged attempts to oust President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were allowed to go unchallenged. The article also forgot to provide the background and context of the NBN deal considering its consequences to the economy and to politics and governance.
Cheers to the Philippine Daily Inquirer for an article on the high cost of college education today. The Inquirer showed that the average Filipino family income is not enough to pay for food, rent, and other expenses, much less for a child’s enrollment in any of the country’s top colleges and universities (“The cost of college education: Do the math and weep and wonder,” May 26, Learning section, p. I). The article had a table of tuition rates in Metro Manila colleges and universities for undergraduate freshmen this school year and compared the rates of private and state colleges and universities. It also discussed the consequences of the increase in fees in the University of the Philippines (P1,000 per unit) as compared to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) which charges only P12 per unit. But the article could have explained how PUP still manages to charge such low tuition in these high inflation times.
Jeers to the Manila Bulletin for packaging an ad as a news report in a May 25 story.
With fertilizer expert Gonzalo Catan Jr. as its only source, “Food production need not be expensive, says fertilizer expert” discussed how organic fertilizer can help lower the cost of food production, noting different natural sources where farmers can source out their organic fertilizer.
But towards the end of the report, the story began to sound like an advertisement when Catan was quoted as saying “…in the light of the sky-rocketing prices of gasoline and diesel, Mapecon vermicast (organic fertilizer) is a definite alternative as has for years been proven by farmers.”
Catan is the founder and the executive vice-president of Mapecon Green Charcoal Philippines. Mapecon stands for Manila Pest Control, a company that recently branched out to agribusiness.
Jeers to The Manila Times for an incomplete report last June 3 on the plunder cases filed against officers of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and former Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) officials.
The Times reported that at least 10 groups have filed plunder cases against ERC and Meralco officials for conniving to keep power rates high. While the report identified the people being charged and the cases being filed against them, it did not name the groups or personalities behind the cases. The paper did not provide any further reports on their identities.
Jeers to The Daily Tribune for a biased report on the conviction of the paper’s publisher and editor-in-chief Ninez Cacho Olivares last June 5.
The June 6 report “Olivares gets jail term, P5K fine, P5M in damages from Makati RTC court” heavily relied on Olivares’s reaction to the conviction, although it cited parts of the ruling handed down by Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Winlove Dumayas.
It also accused Carpio, Villaraza and Cruz Law, the firm that filed libel suits against Olivares, of knowing what the verdict was even before it was announced. Without citing any source, the article said the media had been “tipped off by the lawyers in the Firm on the promulgation of (the sentence of) Olivares” and had been“invited a day before by the Firm to a press conference.”
Jeers to the BusinessMirror for running the one-sided story “Atlas Mining’s unpaid excise-tax arrears questioned” last June 16.
It failed to get the Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp.’s response to Masbate representative Antonio Kho’s allegation, that they disregarded a Supreme Court order mandating them to pay taxes to their local government units.
The report should have indicated if Atlas refused or was not available to comment.
Cheers to ANC’s Pia Hontiveros for reminding former President Joseph Estrada that his press freedom record is not as pristine as he remembers it.
In Top Story’s June 5 telecast, Hontiveros sought Estrada’s reaction to the libel conviction of The Daily Tribune publisher and editor Ninez Cacho Olivares. Estrada said the conviction shows that freedom of the press is no longer practiced in the country and lamented the current government’s tendency to file libel suits against critics. He added that libel should be decriminalized so this freedom would be respected.
Asked how government should deal with a critical press, Estrada cited his experience during the impeachment efforts against him where he said he did not lift a finger even when the press ganged up on him. Estrada further said he also did not try to suppress media coverage of the impeachment proceedings.
Hontiveros though did not let Estrada off the hook so easily. She reminded the deposed president how he dealt with The Manila Times for the “unwitting ninong” article and his advertising boycott of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which was prompted by the paper’s series of critical articles against him.
Jeers to Teledyaryo for continuing to serve as a propaganda tool of the Arroyo government. Teledyaryo devoted an entire segment to then Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye who criticized the opposition last May 16 for allegedly reviving scandals against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Photos of Arroyo, her husband, and other government officials playing golf with Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Company Ltd. (ZTE) officials before the signing of the national broadband network (NBN) deal had been made public at the time, reigniting the NBN-ZTE controversy.
Teledyaryo came to Arroyo’s rescue by faithfully reporting Bunye’s claim that “Bigo na naman ang oposisyon na makita ang totoong punto na ginagawa ng pangulo ang lahat para isulong ang investment sa Pilipinas...kahanga-hanga pa nga kung tutuusin ang sipag ng pangulo dahil ginawa niya ang lahat ng ito sa gitna ng kanyang bakasyon (Again, the opposition failed to notice all the efforts of the president to attract investments. The president’s dedication to work is commendable because she did all these during her vacation).”
Teledyaryo failed to provide any background of the controversy, to get the side of the opposition, and even to ask if the meeting in China was official, why this was not mentioned at the height of the controversy, and if the Arroyo administration still has more information on the cancelled NBN-ZTE deal it has not revealed.
Jeers to 24 Oras for choosing reports about the late actor Rudy “Daboy” Fernandez over stories on this year’s celebration of Independence Day.
Last June 12, 24 Oras’s top four stories were all on the funeral of Fernandez who was laid to rest on the same day. Not content with a report that recapped what had transpired during the burial, 24 Oras also aired reports on the program held during the necrological service for the actor, the reactions of different celebrities, the messages of the actor’s family members, and how many fans waited just to see the burial.
The Philippine government’s decision to prioritize its “holiday economics” policy or the practice of shifting holiday observances to the nearest Monday had already minimized the significance of Philippine Independence Day celebrations last June 12.
Cheers to Bandila for highlighting the appalling situation in public schools, contradicting Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Jesli Lapus’s claims otherwise.
Last June 10, Lapus said that in general, the first day of classes had been “very smooth and very orderly.” Lapus also boasted of the reforms that DepEd supposedly implemented this school year, including the non-requirement for elementary and high school students to wear school uniforms. He added there are enough teachers for each school and enough books for students.
Exposing Lapus’s empty claims, Bandila interviewed the principal of a public school in Pasig who lamented the lack of enough classrooms. The report also showed schools in typhoon-devastated provinces that have no electricity, blackboards, and chairs, and which use tents and covered courts as makeshift classrooms.
Jeers to Teledyaryo for pushing a political agenda at the expense of more important concerns. As the opening of classes neared, Teledyaryo mentioned the preparations of the Department of Education including its efforts to ensure that there are enough teachers and classrooms (May 29). It could have been a good story if only the report had explained in detail these efforts and their results.
Instead, the report quoted the education secretary, who said that electric utility corporation Manila Electric Company (Meralco) should prepare for the opening of classes. Each one has a task to do to guarantee a pleasant, smooth, and safe opening. This is done yearly and all agencies know their responsibilities, Teledyaryo quoted Lapus as saying.
To fault Meralco for the high price of electricity is one thing, to blame it, no matter how indirectly, for the problems of basic education is another. In April, a possible government takeover of Meralco supposedly as an effort to lower electricity costs was in the news. But this was widely viewed as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s way of getting back at the Lopezes for TV giant ABS-CBN 2’s allegedly critical reporting on the administration.
Jeers to TV Patrol World for biased reporting.
Last June 17, it reported the negative reaction of the National Historical Institute (NHI) to the June cover of Rogue, a lifestyle magazine. The June cover and inside pages of Rogue had a nude model covered only with the Philippine flag in body paint. NHI said the photos were offensive and punishable under Republic Act 8491 or the “Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines”.
Section 34 (e) of the Code states that it is prohibited “to wear the flag in whole or in part as a costume or uniform.”
TV Patrol sought the reaction of the writer of the cover story. The writer, lawyer Argee Guevarra, told the reporter that the photos did not violate any provision of the Flag Code. However, the reporter added color to his story when he said: “Palusot ni Guevarra, bagama’t sinabing bawal isuot ang bandila, wala namang sinabi na bawal itong ipinta sa katawan (Guevarra’s excuse: Although the law states that the flag should not be worn, it did not say it could not be painted on the body).”
Contrast this TV Patrol report with similar accounts from Bandila and Dateline Philippines. Bandila, the network’s late-night news program, did not use the word “palusot” (and instead used the word “ayon”). Dateline Philippines, an English news program shown in sister cable channel ANC, used the word “said”.
Cheers to Bulatlat for not forgetting the plight of former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Norayda Katigan. The mainstream press largely ignored the story of Katigan, a 26-year-old Maguindanaoan native jailed and allegedly maltreated in Syria where she worked as a domestic helper. Bulatlat featured her experience and current condition in its June 4-8 issue (“To Hell and Back: The story of an OFW who tried to endure everything to provide for her family,” http://www.bulatlat.com/2008/06/hell-and-back-story-ofw-who-tried-endure-everything-provide-her-family). |
