Oh, the callousness and insensitivity

Just a quick post regarding the false alarm on President Corazon Aquino's death.

The British Embassy in Manila made a major booboo today when it sent journalists a press release stating that the UK Government is extending its condolences "following the death of President Corazon Aquino."

Here's what the embassy sent to journalists more than two hours ago:

UK Government extends condolences following the death of President Corazon
Aquino

Following the news of Corazon Aquino's death Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch Brown has extended the British Government's condolences to her family. Lord Brown, who worked closely with Mrs. Aquino during her election campaign said: "I received the news of Corazon Aquino's death with great sadness. As an advisor in her campaign against President Marcos, the privilege of working with Cory and watching her was one of my life's greatest lessons in courage, leadership, the art of politics and humanity. The way she and all her family made such friends of me as an outsider is something I have always treasured. On behalf of the British Government I extend our condolences to her family at this difficult time."

British Ambassador Peter Beckingham added: "I had the honour and pleasure of meeting former President Aquino on several occasions, when we were able to discuss her visits to London and her interests in members of the Filipino community in Britain, especially those serving in the Church. Those discussions left me with an overwhelming sense of her grace, charisma and compassion. The Philippines has lost a wonderful leader who is widely admired in Britain for her courage and inspiration."

Aquino, on the contrary, is still alive. Jiggy Cruz, Aquino's eldest grandson, has been tweeting that the former president is still alive. "(S)pending time with my Lola (grandmother). People, don't believe the rumor," Cruz tweeted earlier. Another tweet from Cruz, just a few minutes ago: "To all those concerned, please don't believe the rumors that are spreading..."

A few minutes after realizing its gaffe, the British embassy sent another email to journalists. In my opinion, the email sounded callous and less than sincere about the earlier release:

"Our deepest apologies, it appears the information we received was premature. Please embargo our statement until Pres. Aquino's passing has been confirmed. Thank you very much for your understanding."

Can't you just feel the love?

Okay, mistakes happen and I understand that the UK embassy realized that it had a made a mistake in sending the first release (although the embassy staff could have really waited for an official announcement on the issue, especially since we are talking about Pres. Aquino here--a global icon of democracy and a moral guiding light in this sorry country of ours). I also felt that the embassy officials were very sincere in their statements.

What irks me is the way they try to wangle themselves out of the situation by issuing the second email only to come across callous and insensitive.

Resume peace talks with rebel groups and stop the killing of activists and journalists, European Parliament urges Philippine government

The Philippine government should resume peace talks with rebel groups to address the massive bloodshed and displacement of civilians in the country, according to the European Parliament (EP) in a resolution last March 12. It also expressed grave concern at the rampant cases of extrajudicial killings of activists and journalists, and "the role that the security forces have played in orchestrating and perpetrating those murders."

The EP added that it wants to ensure that the European Union's financial assistance towards economic development in the Philippines is "accompanied by scrutiny of possible violations of economic, social and cultural rights, with special attention being paid to encouraging dialogue and inclusion of all groups in society."

For more information about EP, click here.


European Parliament resolution of 12 March 2009 on the Philippines

The European Parliament ,

– having regard to the Declaration of 15 September 2008 by the Presidency on behalf of the EU on the situation in Mindanao,

– having regard to the appeal issued by the Ambassadors of the European Union and the United States of America and the Australian Embassy's deputy head of mission on 29 January 2009,

– having regard to the third session of the Tripartite Review of the implementation of the 1996 Peace Agreement between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) from 11 to 13 March 2009,

– having regard to the Hague Joint Declaration by the GRP and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) of 1 September 1992 and the First and Second Oslo Joint Statements of 14 February and of 3 April 2004,

– having regard to the Commission's Country Strategy Paper 2007-2013 for the Philippines, the programme of support to the Peace Process under the Stability Instrument and the negotiations for a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the Philippines,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on the Philippines, notably that of 26 April 2007(1) , and reaffirming its support for the peace negotiations between the GRP and NDFP as expressed in its resolutions of 17 July 1997(2) and 14 January 1999(3) ,

– having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas several armed groups, notably the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), have been combating government troops in the southern part of the Philippines since 1969, in one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies,

B. whereas the conflict between the GRP and the insurgents of the NDFP has claimed more than 40 000 lives and sporadic violence has continued despite the 2003 ceasefire and peace talks,

C. whereas hostilities between government forces and the MILF in Mindanao resumed in August 2008 after the Supreme Court of the Philippines declared unconstitutional the Memorandum of Agreement between the MILF and the GRP on the Ancestral Domain, which would have given substantial autonomy to the Bangsamoro nation,

D. whereas the renewed fighting has killed over one hundred and displaced approximately 300 000 people, many of whom are still in evacuation centres,

E. whereas Malaysia, the peace facilitator, withdrew its ceasefire monitors from Mindanao in April 2008 due to the lack of progress in the peace process, but is willing to reconsider its role if the GRP clarifies its negotiating position,

F. whereas peace talks between the GRP and the NDFP have stalled since 2004 and whereas the Norwegian Government has made great efforts to encourage both sides to resume formal talks,

G. whereas hundreds of activists, trade unionists, journalists and religious leaders in the Philippines have been killed or abducted since 2001 and the GRP denies any involvement of the security forces and the army in these political killings, despite ample evidence to the contrary,

H. whereas there were several cases in 2008 in which local courts found the arrest and detention of activists to be unlawful and ordered their release, but where those same people were subsequently rearrested and charged with rebellion or murder,

I. whereas the judiciary in the Philippines is not independent, while lawyers and judges are also subject to harassment and killings; whereas witness vulnerability makes it impossible to effectively investigate criminal offences and prosecute those responsible for them,

J. whereas, in the case of most of these extrajudicial killings, no formal criminal investigation has been opened and the perpetrators remain unpunished despite many government claims that it has adopted measures to stop the killings and bring their perpetrators to justice,

K. whereas in April 2008 the UN Human Rights Council examined the situation in the Philippines and stressed the impunity of those responsible for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, but the GRP rejected recommendations for a follow-up report,

L. whereas in order to put an end to abductions and extrajudicial killings it is necessary to address the economic, social and cultural root causes of violence in the Philippines,

1. Expresses its grave concern about the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people in Mindanao, calls on the GRP and the MILF to do all in their power to bring about a situation which allows people to return home, and calls for enhanced national and international action to protect and to work towards the rehabilitation of the displaced persons;

2. Believes strongly that the conflict can only be resolved through dialogue, and that the resolution of this long-standing insurgency is essential for the sake of the overall development of the Philippines;

3. Calls on the GRP to urgently resume peace negotiations with the MILF and to clarify the status and future of the Memorandum of Agreement after the above-mentioned Supreme Court ruling; welcomes the GRP's announcement that it intends to drop preconditions for the resumption of talks;

4. Welcomes the talks, facilitated by Norway, between the GRP and the NDFP in Oslo in November 2008 and hopes, in this case also, that formal negotiations can rapidly resume; calls on the parties to comply with their bilateral agreements for the JMC, to meet in accordance with the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and to allow joint investigations of human rights violations;

5. Calls on the Council and the Commission to provide and facilitate support and assistance to the parties in implementing the CARHRIHL, notably through development, relief and rehabilitation programmes;

6. Calls on the European Council and the Commission to support the GRP in its efforts to advance the peace negotiations, including by means of facilitation if requested, as well as through support for the International Monitoring Team responsible for overseeing the ceasefire between the military and the MILF;

7. Suggests that the role of the International Monitoring Team could be enhanced through a stronger mandate for investigations and through an agreed policy of making its findings public;

8. Calls on the GRP to increase development aid to Mindanao in order to improve the desperate living conditions of the local population and welcomes the financial support of more than EUR 13 million in food and non-food aid which the EU has given to Mindanao since fighting restarted in August 2008;

9. Expresses its grave concern at the hundreds of cases of extrajudicial killings of political activists and journalists that have occurred in recent years in the Philippines, and the role that the security forces have played in orchestrating and perpetrating those murders;

10. Calls on the GRP to investigate cases of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances; calls at the same time on the GRP to put into place an independent monitoring mechanism to oversee the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of such acts;

11. Calls on the GRP to adopt measures to end the systematic intimidation and harassment of political and human rights activists, members of civil society, journalists and witnesses in criminal prosecutions, and to ensure truly effective witness protection;

12. Reiterates its request to the Philippine authorities to allow the UN special bodies dealing with human rights protection unrestricted access to the country; urges, also, the authorities to swiftly adopt and implement laws to incorporate the international human rights instruments (e.g. against torture and enforced disappearances) which have been ratified into national law;

13. Calls on the Council and the Commission to ensure that the EU's financial assistance towards economic development in the Philippines is accompanied by scrutiny of possible violations of economic, social and cultural rights, with special attention being paid to encouraging dialogue and inclusion of all groups in society;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the President and Government of the Republic of the Philippines, the MILF, the NDFP, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the governments of the ASEAN Member States.

(1)	OJ C 74 E, 20.3.2008, p. 788.
(2)	OJ C 286, 22.9.1997, p. 245.
(3)	OJ C 104, 14.4.1999, p. 116.

Precision reporting in a time of crisis

How do the media cover the current Gaza conflict?

Below is an article that offers a view on how two main Arab news channels, Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, cover the current crisis.


Arab news channels differ over Gaza war coverage
Ali Khalil
Source: Zawya.com
Jan. 9, 2009

DUBAI, Jan 08, 2009 (AFP) - Israel's onslaught on Gaza has taken over the screens of the two main Arab news channels, Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, but each with its own perspective on objectivity and the airing of disturbing footage.

"Gaza Under Fire" is the title adopted by the Doha-based Al-Jazeera television for its round-the-clock coverage of Israel's all-out offensive.

According to Gaza medics, more than 700 Palestinians have now been killed since Israel's offensive began on December 27.

To some, the Qatari-funded channel may seem pro-Palestinian in its coverage by describing the dead as "martyrs". But its editor-in-chief, Ahmed al-Sheikh, has no apologies.

"Instead of asking why we call the dead 'martyrs,' we say stop the killing so that there would no longer be any martyrs," he told AFP, insisting the channel remains objective, allocating airtime for Israeli officials.

Read more here.

The article discusses, among others, the perspective of "objectivity" in covering the conflict, including the use of terms such as "martyrs" to refer to Palestinian victims.

But how should the press refer to Hamas: a Palestinian faction, an Islamic militant group, or a terrorist organization? Are these labels accurate or fair? Columbia Journalism Review assistant editor Katia Bachko tackles how press descriptions of Hamas shape the public's understanding of the conflict. "It’s a complicated history—which goes to underscore the inadequacy of the simplistic labels being deployed by the press during the current conflict," she explains. "Precision reporting is essential during wartime, when misinformation flows freely and all sides want to win the war for public opinion. But journalists continue to frame Hamas primarily as a terrorist organization."


War of the Words
Katia Bachko
Source: Columbia Journalism Review
Jan. 8, 2009

As the extent of physical damage and human suffering in Gaza comes into sharper focus, one aspect of the current conflict remains frustratingly unclear. Who or what is Hamas, exactly?

Definitions vary depending on which news outlet you consult. Al Jazeera English calls Hamas “the Palestinian faction that controls the Gaza Strip,” while the New York Post refers to “the Islamic militant group Hamas.” The New York Times sometimes calls Hamas “the militant Palestinian group” and sometimes adds a little more context with “Hamas, the Islamist militant group that governs Gaza.”

Read more here.

Alba: An emerging alternative to neoliberal economics

Amid the current financial crisis gripping worldwide today, is it enough to "redesign" the neoliberal economic and financial system?

Noted development studies and political economy professor and 2008 University of the Philippines Centennial Professorial Chair Awardee Roland Simbulan writes about an alternative to neoliberal economics. "It symbolizes the new solidarity and internationalism that draws inspiration from the integration of initiatives from popular organizations and progressive states," he explains in a Philippine Daily Inquirer commentary last Jan. 5.


Commentary
Emerging alternative to neoliberalism

Roland G. Simbulan
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
Jan. 5, 2009

THE crisis of neoliberal economic theory and practice is only proving that an economic and financial system based on the logic of deregulated profit maximization cannot go on. But is it just enough to reform or “redesign” neoliberal capitalism? Those who think that it can be saved by mere bailouts of big business failures by governments will be disappointed.

As the world reels from the crisis of neoliberal capitalism, an exciting process is happening in Latin America led by Venezuela and Cuba. It is a process that is emerging as an alternative to profit-oriented neoliberal economics and a foreign policy subservient to the United States, the IMF-World Bank and the World Trade Organization. It symbolizes the new solidarity and internationalism that draws inspiration from the integration of initiatives from popular organizations and progressive states.

In Latin America, taking concrete shape right in the backyard of the US Empire, there has emerged the Bolivarian Alternative to the Americas (Alba), which is an alternative form of regional integration that is not based on trade liberalization. If not on US-sponsored free trade agreements, what is it based on then? It is based on the vision and idea of social welfare and equity, advocating a socially oriented trade bloc. It is a regional solidarity whose purpose is to eradicate the poverty of the most dispossessed sectors of society. Its linchpin is to allow the economically weakest countries to gain more favorable terms in trade negotiations, thereby undercutting the prerogatives of profit-driven transnational corporations. But it is more than a new and alternative trade agreement.

Read here for more.

Here are some online materials about Alba:


ALBA Venezuela’s answer to “free trade”: the Bolivarian alternative for the Americas
Source: Focus on the Global South

The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) represents the first attempt at regional integration that is not based primarily on trade liberalization but on a new vision of social welfare and equity. Alternatives are often either theoretical to the point of impracticality, or so micro that scaling up presents huge challenges; ALBA is both large-scale and, to an increasing degree, taking concrete shape. While many aspects of the project are still unrealized or only in the process of realization, and despite some apparent contradictions between theory and practice, ALBA is an important case study.

Read more here.


ALBA: Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean
Teresa Arreaza
Source: Venezuelanalysis
Jan. 30, 2004

The ALBA (Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas), as its Spanish initials indicate, is a proposed alternative to the U.S.-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA, ALCA in its Spanish initials), differing from the latter in that it advocates a socially-oriented trade block rather than one strictly based on the logic of deregulated profit maximization. ALBA appeals to the egalitarian principles of justice and equality that are innate in human beings, the well-being of the most dispossessed sectors of society, and a reinvigorated sense of solidarity toward the underdeveloped countries of the western hemisphere, so that with the required assistance, they can enter into trade negotiations on more favorable terms than has been the case under the dictates of developed countries.

By employing more effective mechanisms to eradicate poverty, ALBA—as proposed by the Venezuelan government—provides a counterweight to the policies and goals of the FTAA. This alternative model also identifies the most crucial impediments to achieve a genuine regional integration that transcends the prerogatives of the transnational corporations. One of the obstacles to confront is the deep disparity that exists in development between the countries of the hemisphere, whereby poor countries such as Haiti or Bolivia are compelled to compete with the world’s leading economic power. In order to help overcome trade disadvantages, ALBA pushes for solidarity with the economically weakest countries, with the aim of achieving a free trade area in which all of its members benefit (a win-win alliance).

Read more here.

Controversies, crises greet 2009

And so the "Alabang Boys" case continues to sizzle, and rightly so.

Since December, I have been looking at the press reports on the controversy and watching the House investigations aired over ANC.

Of course, other issues that are equally important have been continuing as well. One story is the alleged mauling incident involving the sons of Agrarian Reform Secretary and peace negotiator Nasser Pangandaman Sr.

Five days ago, journalist Caloy Conde raised an important point regarding the Pangandaman controversy and the power of blogging.


A Challenge to Bambee dela Paz and Other Bloggers
By Carlos H. Conde
January 3, 2009

Bloggers who benefited from the power of blogging to correct the injustice done to them have a duty to pay society back. And the only way I can think of is for them to raise hell, too, about the injustice done to other people.

Read more here.


The war in Gaza continues, and might even worsen. From Dec. 29 to Jan. 4, the Gaza fighting between Israel and Hamas became the top news staple in the U.S. press, accounting for 21% of the newshole, according to the weekly News Coverage Index from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.






PEJ News Coverage Index: December 29, 2008 - January 4, 2009
War in Gaza Casts Shadow over Transition
Source: Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism

A bloody new chapter in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians dramatically shifted the news agenda from domestic to foreign crises, dominating media attention in an otherwise crowded week of news.

The Gaza fighting between Israel and Hamas, which escalated from aerial warfare to fierce ground fighting, accounted for 21% of the newshole from Dec. 29-Jan. 4, according to the weekly News Coverage Index from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Other than the Iraq war, that made Gaza the second-biggest overseas story for any week during the past two years. Only the brief and one-sided conflict between Georgia and Russia, which filled 26% of the newshole from Aug. 11-17 2008, generated more coverage.

The new spasm of Mideast violence attracted significantly more coverage than the No. 2 story, the economic crisis, which filled 14% of the newshole. Although it had been widely believed that new President Barack Obama’s first priority would be working to mitigate that meltdown, last week’s events raised the possibility that the Gaza bloodshed could pose his most immediate challenge instead.

Indeed, Obama’s response to that conflict—which has thus far been muted—was the biggest theme of the Presidential transition (the week’s No. 4 story at 8% of the newshole).

Sandwiched in between was a political sideshow that presented yet another headache for the President-elect. The fallout from the scandal involving Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, which last week focused on his controversial selection of unlikely candidate Roland Burris to replace Obama in the Senate, accounted for 10% of the coverage.

It was a week in which those top four stories all generated significant media attention and accounted for more than half the overall newshole.

Click here for more. PDF copy of the report here.

Here's an article from The New York Times on the Israeli government's ban against the media entering Gaza in order to control the message and narrative in its favor.

Israel Puts Media Clamp on Gaza

By Ethan Bronner
Source: The New York Times
January 6, 2009

Like all wars, this one is partly about public relations. But unlike any war in Israel’s history, in this one the government is seeking to entirely control the message and narrative for reasons both of politics and military strategy.

Read more here.


Interesting reads: ("The Gaza crisis and the perspective of permanent revolution" and "Israeli atrocities in Gaza: a political impasse and moral collapse" from the World Socialist Web Site)

And a funny 2008 year-end review from the famous Uncle Jay. With over 6.5 million views already on Youtube and more than 1,500 comments, Uncle Jay sings the major news items in 2008 within three and a half minutes. This video has become among the most popular Youtube clips so far this year.

Obamamania, Obamanomics

Nov. 5 front pages of the San Francisco Chronicle and The Topeka Capital-Journal courtesy of the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR). Front pages of other newspapers here.

Below is the victory speech of President-elect Barack Obama, courtesy of Tonyo Cruz.

Victory speech of President-elect Barack Obama
Source: Tonyo Cruz
Nov. 5, 2008

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of red states and blue states: We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Read here for more.

Here's Sen. John McCain's concession speech, also from Tonyo:

Concession speech of Sen. John McCain, Republican candidate in the 2008 US presidential elections
Source: Tonyo Cruz
Nov. 5, 2008

(Cheers, applause.)

SEN. MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening. (Cheers, applause.)

My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama — (boos) — to congratulate him — (boos) — please — to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

Read here for more.

Below is a quick look by CJR at the analyses of several major news organizations on the economic change likely under an Obama administration.

Audit Roundup: Obamanomics
Bloomberg on what’s in store; Challenges galore, says the Times; etc.
By Ryan Chittum
Nov. 5, 2008

Bloomberg, better than the Journal, Times, or Post, looks ahead to the economic change likely under an Obama administration.

The Democratic president-elect has much more on his agenda, amounting to what may be the broadest overhaul of the U.S. economy since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Beyond job creation and big investments in public works, Obama intends to shift the tax burden back toward the wealthy, roll back a quarter-century of deregulation, extend health-care coverage to all Americans and reassess the U.S. government’s pursuit of free- trade deals.

“The changes will be far greater than many expect,” said Andrew Laperriere, managing director at International Strategy & Investment Group, a money management and research firm in Washington. “From taxes to energy to health care, it’s a pretty sweeping agenda.”

But the Journal is good in looking at the “cooler climate” Big Business is expecting from Obama.

What appears to worry business interests most is the possibility that a Democratic Congress and a Democratic White House will shift the balance of power between employers and unions back in favor of unions, after two decades or more in which unions have been in retreat.

Click here for the the full post. Hat tip to Media Channel for flagging this post. Media Channel also points readers to this insightful piece by David Hincley of the Daily News of New York City on the U.S. television coverage of the 2008 presidential elections.

Election night reveals a whole new reality in network TV coverage
By Daily News

After 18 months of unrestricted projection, speculation and analysis about how America would vote in the 2008 presidential election, TV was stuck last night with the actual information.

It did the best it could.

Read here for more.

Quick quick post

News, indeed, never sleeps.

Just a few minutes ago, the U.S. House of Representatives, voting 228-205, rejects the $700-billion Wall Street bailout bill (Twitted this too). U.S. stocks down as bailout plan fails in the House.

Analysts also said that Barack Obama scored some victory points in the recent U.S. Presidential debate. With a few days left before the upcoming vice-presidential elections, Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria writes: Palin Is Ready? Please.

In local news, journalists who sued presidential spouse Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo for his mass filing of libel suits want him to testify. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility is a signatory to the complaint.

Obama and McCain's 1st Presidential Debate

Here is the first 2008 U.S. presidential debate between Republican nominee Sen. John McCain and Democrat nominee Sen. Barack Obama. The debate focused on issues related to foreign policy and national security, including the global financial crisis. It is more than one hour and 30 minutes, so make sure you have the time and good Internet connection to watch it.



PinoyPress also reports the two candidates' views on political, economic, and social issues between U.S. and Asia.

Speaking of the financial crisis, Jon Friedman of MarketWatch criticizes the press for its "wimpy" coverage of the economic meltdown.

Media shouldn't shy away from explosive language
Commentary: Mealy-mouthed financial reporters should tell it like it is
By Jon Friedman, MarketWatch
Sept. 26, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Over the past few, stunning weeks, the reporters covering the apparent collapse of capitalism have tried mightily to be prudent and proper. In this extraordinary period, however, I'd prefer bluntness and brutal truth.

This is no time for journalists to be hedging their bets and falling back on imprecise, sugar-coated language.

The Wall Street media may want to dispel notions that they're merely trying to capitalize on a scary time and sell newspapers, increase their Web clicks and raise television ratings. Remember, journalists were skewered after the tech bubble burst in 2000. The public blamed the media for acting as cheerleaders for the fragile Internet stocks.

But these days, the media are taking their good intentions too far. They're failing to describe accurately the bloodbath (and, you bet, "bloodbath" is an acceptable word, too).

Read more here.

On the current economic crisis

The Wall Street financial crisis continues to hog headlines and airtime (good reads here and here). Even some local major news organizations have appropriately made several banner and front-page reports on the issue.

For those living under a rock in the past weeks or grappling with all those big-sounding business and financial terms related to the crisis, you might want to visit Carlos Conde's PinoyPress helpful post. You might want to read some of the links there for a quick understanding of the issue, but I recommend reading all the links he posted--just make sure you have enough time to do so. (Heck, I'm not even halfway finished in reading all the links Sir Caloy posted.)


The Attack of the Jargonites
September 19, 2008
PinoyPress
By Carlos H. Conde

As with many business or financial story, the meltdown that just happened on Wall Street is often difficult to digest, what with all the jargon and the complex methodologies used by investment and insurance companies to get to where they are now. Does anyone really know what a “derivative” is or what a “credit default swap” really means? And who the hell are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Reading the papers and watching the news reports about the Crash of 2008 can often feel like they were written and produced by journalists who exist in a parallel world, a surreal, separate universe populated by Jargonites.

Read more here.

Hat tip to journalist Tonyo Cruz (who is this year's Best News and Media Blog in Philippine Blog Awards 2008) for linking readers to this commentary from Ian Bell of London-based The Herald: Capitalism has proven Karl Marx right again, Bell writes. In his post, Tonyo discussed the progressive, anti-imperialist view of the U.S. economic meltdown which effects reverberate throughout the rest of the world. He also linked related readings and news in other posts (here and here)

For more information about the effects of the U.S. crisis especially in the Philippines, do visit Money Smarts, the Inquirer.net blog of business editor Salve Duplito. She has blogged the issue several times (including this and this). Duplito's blog has been a very helpful information resource for Filipinos, especially the ones who are jittery--and quite understandably--on what the repercussions of the crisis.

It seems that financial and economic woes will continue to dominate media space and airtime in the next few days. But for how long? According to the U.S. based Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, a research organization that monitors U.S. media's coverage of issues, a month before the meltdown started, the economy was not a major news agenda.

The Lull before the Storm
Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism
Sept. 18, 2008

"The credit crisis hit Wall Street hard the week of September 15. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch was bought out Bank of America, and insurance giant AIG was rescued with an $85 billion bailout by the Federal Reserve. On Sept. 15, the Dow fell 504 points, the worst one-day drop since 9/11. Two days later, the market plunged another 450 points.

"While this recent financial turmoil has dominated headlines and become the focus of the presidential race, PEJ’s News Coverage Index reveals that in the month preceding these events, press attention to the U.S. economy was at a low point for the year."




Read more here. Infographic above from the same article.

I know local research think thank IBON Foundation is having a forum today on the US economic meltdown. "The global crisis will further worsen the Philippines’ own economic crisis as neoliberal reforms have further deepened its links to the US and the global economy," IBON said in a statement inviting people to attend today's forum. "However, the economy would have been less vulnerable if the domestic economy were not overly dependent on trade, foreign loans and capital, and if nationalist economic policies were in place." I was supposed to attend the event, but decided to ask another colleague instead. I hope IBON would post the proceedings online.

No to Arroyo's term extension--FSGO

A group of former senior government officials has launched an online petition calling for immediate resumption of peace talks on Mindanao, and against any possible term extension for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

-----

For the on-line signing of this petition, please visit: http://www.fsgo.org.ph/.

Your contact details (except the city or province you are in) and your email address will not be posted and will be kept as a confidential information by the FSGO Secretariat.
Please note that organizational signatories are also being solicited. For this, please contact me directly or send email to the FSGO secretariat at info@incitegov.org or mmibanez@incitegov.org.

-------------------------------

Moves For Term Extension Will Not Die:
Filipino Citizens Should Prepare For Action

We, the organizations and individuals who have signed this statement, are citizens of this Republic alarmed by current political developments. We note that in spite of various protestations by political leaders from the administration and the opposition, the talk of a brazen attempt to extend the term of Mrs. Arroyo simply will not die.

Charter change to be initiated in Congress through a constituent assembly has seemingly been stopped in its tracks by the vocal opposition of many members of the Senate, whose two-thirds approval would logically seem necessary to convene a constituent assembly. Yet the House of Representatives, through the Speaker, and the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, has announced that it will be holding “public consultations” to elicit public opinion on charter change, whether for federalism, shift to a parliamentary system or such other excuse/justification as may later dawn on the proponents. Some legislators have been vocal in pushing their interpretation that “the Constitution requires only a two thirds vote of its members to propose amendments to the Constitution,” an interpretation that would make the Senators’ votes almost irrelevant in the process.

The current administration has swung violently on the matter of the conflict in Mindanao from rushing to sign the MOA on Ancestral Domain with the MILF to the abrupt cancellation of the peace talks, the dissolution of the peace panel and the attempt of Mrs. Arroyo to disown knowledge of the agreement; and now a relentless armed confrontation that is seemingly designed to goad the MILF and other groups into a combative reaction or a series of violent actions. The inevitable armed confrontations and deaths that will follow could be a ready-made platform to suspend the writ of habeas corpus or, heaven forbid, even the declaration of Martial Law. The Constitution requires only a vote of a majority of the members of Congress, voting jointly, to approve and extend Martial Law.

We declare our commitment to a just and sustainable peace in Mindanao . We will initiate and support all possible actions that will bring about an inclusive process to begin with ceasefire and return to the peace table.

We declare our united opposition (1) to any moves that exploit the Mindanao situation to extend Mrs. Arroyo’s stay in power, (2) to any attempt to amend the Constitution before 2010, (3) to any attempt to change the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly, and (4) to any step towards declaring Martial Law.

We call on all Filipinos to be vigilant, to inform themselves, to organize with like-minded fellow citizens, and to prepare to show our leaders and officials the true power of our democracy.

Welcome to the Pig Pen

I agree with the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) when it blamed the media for overblowing the "Lipstick on a Pig" controversy. The quality of how we conduct elections and choose our leaders , whether in the US or in our sorry country of ours, depends on the discourse of campaign and political issues.


Notes From The Pig Sty
In which we all get dirty
By Megan Garber
CJR
Sept. 10, 2008

What (audiences) recognize, rather, is the press’s framing of those accusations, the media’s treatment of the controversies. And the fact that LipstickOnAPigGate is a controversy—indeed, the fact that it’s a narrative in the first place—is the fault of the media.... The media, in allowing themselves to be so easily hijacked by campaign spin...are not only implying their own irrelevance in this whole campaign. They’re fostering it.

Read more here.

Another useful post here. Additional readings from Slate on the US election campaign: an unsolicited advice for Democrat vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden to beat Sarah Barracuda; how umbrage has become the most widely-used tactic in the campaign; and the hottest rhetorical device of the 2008 campaign--the antimetabole.

Undermining the right to know and the country's democracy

Here's a statement of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) on the Supreme Court affirmation of its March 25 decision favoring executive privilege. The ruling, CMFR said in the statement, does not only affect the public's right to know and the role of press in society but also the vitality and future of democracy in the Philippines.


Statement of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
Assault on the Public's Right to Know
Source: Freedom Watch
Sept. 11, 2008

The Supreme Court’s affirmation of its March 25 decision in favor of executive privilege undermines the public interest function of the press to provide information to a citizenry that has a right to it on matters of public concern. Even more dangerously it also erodes the democratic imperative of transparency in governance.

By expanding the coverage of executive privilege to include communications authored or solicited and received by a presidential advisor, in this case then National Economic and Development Authority Director General Romulo Neri, the Court has legitimized government secrecy to an extent yet to be established by practice.

Read more here.

Jon Stewart disses Sarah Palin's media defenders

Can't get enough of this. The clip below shows Jon Stewart pwning media commentators who support Republican vice-presidential bet Sarah Palin. Definitely a must-see video, especially if you are closely following the upcoming U.S. elections.

Did I hear somebody shout "hypocrisy"?



Hat tip to colleague JB who earlier posted this. Youtube video courtesy of user 1stAmendmentVoter.

Lots of comments on the clip here.

2nd Philippine Journalism Review out--and living in the Philippine age of apathy

In case you do not know, the second issue of the Philippine Journalism Review (PJR) is already available. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), publisher of the PJR, is in the process of renovating its site (paging Ederic haha). Thus, the announcement below is still not posted on the CMFR site.

Second issue of only refereed journal on journalism released
Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility

THE second issue of the Philippine Journalism Review (PJR), the only refereed journal in Asia devoted to journalism concerns and issues, is now available, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) has announced.

Now an annual, the Philippine Journalism Review, or PJR, used to be a press monitoring publication in magazine format. That function has been taken over by the monthly PJR Reports, which CMFR also publishes. The first issue of the reformatted PJR appeared in 2007 and was launched during the awarding ceremonies of the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism that year.

The 2008 issue of PJR has a paper by St. Scholastica's College journalism professor Ma. Aurora Lolita L. Lomibao on the beat system ("Revisiting the Beat System"), Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter DJ Yap's "Literary Journalism in the Philippines from the 1950s to the 1980s," and Philippine Social Science Council Technical Services and Information head Joanne B. Agbisit's "Media-Policy Interaction in the Passage of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995."

GMA 7 researcher Ederic Eder also reviewed an online publication ("Global Voices Online"), while University of the Philippines journalism professor Danilo A. Arao interviewed "barefoot journalism" advocate Ben Domingo ("Understanding Barefoot Journalism). A commentary by Johanna Camille Sisante on the Philippine Daily Inquirer's error-correction box ("The Inquirer Box of Errors") completes the 2008 issue contents.

University of the Philippines journalism professor and CMFR Deputy Director Luis V. Teodoro edits PJR, assisted by Prof. Danilo A. Arao, who is its managing editor. The PJR Board of Advisers is composed of academics from the Ateneo de Manila, the University of Santo Tomas, the University of the Philippines, St. Scholastica's College, the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

PJR copies may be ordered from the CMFR (840-0889; 894-1314, 894-1326) and the Office of Research and Publication of the UP College of Mass Communication (981-8500 local 2668).

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By the way, speaking of Dean Teodoro, please read his latest BusinessWorld column titled "Heroes". Outstanding analysis of our national heroes and today's Philippine society. Sadly, we are currently living, in his words, in the Philippine age of apathy.

Heroes
Luis Teodoro
Aug. 29, 2008

Revolutions are after all waged by the millions — and heroes made by vast constituencies: by the nameless men and women who, confronting police batons, tear gas, water cannon, and even guns, create and imbue leaders with the courage, the sense of community and the single-minded purpose that enable them to be the faces and voices of protest and change. To our sorrow ours does not seem to be a heroic age; and we do not have — we have actually lost — the constituencies that once made heroes of ordinary and flawed mortals.

Read more here.

Helpful online materials for journalists

In journalism, it's not enough--and worse, a disservice to the public--to just get the names, places, and events right. "Democracy depends on citizens having reliable, accurate facts put in a meaningful context," said the U.S.-based Committee of Concerned Journalists, explaining that journalism's first obligation is to the truth. "Even in a world of expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built--context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate. " If we journalists barely know the background or context of what we are reporting, then how would we be able to present these issues clearly to the public?

Raging issues at present are the current peace situation in Mindanao and rising oil costs. Below are online articles and materials that could help journalists covering these issues gain better perspective and context to what they are reporting. Of course, non-journalists would also find the materials very useful.

Filipina journalist Raissa Robles of The South China Morning Post writes a comprehensive story on the current Mindanao issue, providing background on and context to the issue.

Gathering storm
Manila's botched attempt at creating a southern Muslim homeland has inflamed religious tensions and raised the spectre of civil war
Raissa Robles
The South China Morning Post
Aug 26, 2008

A serious government miscalculation not only led to the eruption of violence in the southern Philippines, but it might also have raised the long-dormant spectre of civil war with religious overtones.

"I fear a civil war ... I'm scared," said prominent socialite-activist Precy Lopez-Psinakis this weekend.

In Cotabato City, after Friday prayers at the mosque, Nash Pangadapun expressed concern over text messages circulating in this Muslim heartland which revealed that some Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf) commanders intended to attack Christian communities before September 1 - the onset of Ramadan, the Muslim period or fasting - should the military continue to shell their camps.

"It that happens, this could be a precursor to a civil war", Mr Pangadapun, secretary general of the Muslim civil society group Maradeka, told The South China Morning Post.

Last week, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's top aide, executive secretary Eduardo Ermita, voiced concern over the rise of armed Christian vigilante groups. "At first glance, you might think we could allow them to fight the Milf. But what if civil war breaks out?" the former general said.

Read more here.

Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Central Committee, held a press conference last Aug. 23 with other MILF officials. The group's views and claims were presented during the event. “As far as we are concerned, the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA – AD) is a final document, a done deal,” the MILF said.
The group said it "cannot allow renegotiation on the MOA–AD, which took both the MILF–GRP Peace Negotiating Panels four years and eight months to discuss and initialed through the superb facilitation of the Malaysian government. "

For details of the conference, please click here. Hat tip to Tita Ellen.

Some local reports on the oil problem have not provided the larger picture, how the current oil problem in the country are intricately connected with issues and problems in the international community.

Journalists and ordinary citizens closely following the oil issue may want to check out a pictorial representation of global consumption of oil using Google Earth. (Oh, while in Google Earth, you may also want to see a worrying animation of the effect of rising sea levels in the planet.)

The prominent education and research think-tank East-West Center has also just released a short analytical piece on several policy options to improve energy security in the Asia-Pacific.

Six steps toward increased energy security in the Asia Pacific region By Kang Wu, Fereidun Fesharaki, Sidney B. Westley and Widhyawan Prawiraatmadja
East-West Center
Aug. 25, 2008

Given the region’s growing populations, expanding transportation needs and rising expectations for a better standard of living, the demand for oil can only go up. The result is a steadily growing dependence on imported oil, largely from the volatile Middle East.



Oil production, consumption, and net surplus or deficit in major regions of the world, 2006 (million barrels per day). Source: BP (2007). Image from: East-West Center


This is no doubt cause for concern, but a number of policy options can help governments improve the security of their oil supplies and, in the long term, bring oil supply and demand into better alignment. The following policy measures could make a significant contribution to energy security in the region:

1. Initiate joint ventures with oil producers.
2. Improve the efficiency of domestic oil markets.
3. Build up strategic oil stocks.
4. Strengthen regional cooperation.
5. Reduce transportation bottlenecks.
6. Establish a regional oil futures market.

For explanation on these measures, as well as more information about the piece and authors, kindly click here.



Proven oil reserves at the end of 2006 (billions of barrels). Source: BP (2007). Note: Measurements of proven reserves are imprecise, because there is no globally accepted system to certify reserves, and reports from individual companies or countries cannot be verified. Image from East-West Center

Barack Obama's speech: "A More Perfect Union" (And isn't "perfect" an absolute adjective?)

Haven't really read colleague JB Santos's post on U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama so I think I'm going to reserve my thoughts on the issue for the meantime. Just saw from Youtube however that Obama's March 18 speech is the most viewed video this week.

Here's the clip:



Here's a copy of his speech.

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Just want to add that there were some discussions regarding the use of comparison in "absolute" adjectives such as "perfect" or "unique". Here and here are just two of the many links regarding the issue. However, I agree on the discussion here that "more perfect" is correct. Also saw a post from Daily Writing Tips basically echoing similar points, but can't find the link. Sorry.

Self-love photos

If you're a speaker, participant, or somebody who's interested in the discussions and presentations made during the international conference on press freedom and impunity organized by the Southeast Asian Press Alliance and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), copies of available speeches and presentations as well as the conference program and photos are now available at the CMFR site.

Legal experts, journalists, press freedom and human rights advocates attend international conference on press freedom and impunity in Manila
Source: CMFR

Just three months after scores of journalists and media practitioners were arrested after covering the Manila Peninsula siege, over a hundred legal experts, judges, journalists, press freedom and human rights advocates from all over the world along with some local government officials gathered at the same site, this time to address a problem that has besieged the Philippines: journalist killings.

The "Impunity and Press Freedom" conference, held on Feb. 27 to 29, was organized by the Southeast Asian Press and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility with support from the Open Society Institute and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Click here for more.

Below are some photos we took during the international conference on press freedom and impunity in Makati City. Actually, photos we took of ourselves. Haha. Sorry. We're saving the rest of the photos of the conference and participants for the March 2008 issue of the PJR Reports.

CMFR staff



Taking a peek



With Indonesian lawyer Anggara and Cambodian human rights advocate Virak



With Anggara



With 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts Atmakasumah Astraatmadja, JB (who's planning to move to another blog), Atty. Nena Santos and another lawyer



The staff at Ilustrados in Manila



Since the conference ended on Feb. 29, the staff decided to attend and cover the Makati rally that day.



Forgive our tired looks below. Actually after the conference, I didn't eat lunch because I rushed back to my room to fix some documents needed that day and scrambled my way back to the office. And off I went to the rally. My dinner that day was actually a lunch and dinner plus midnight snack.

A Tangled Web of Corruption and Greed

What's the connection between the NBN-ZTE deal and the international dispute over Spratlys? Why is the NBN-ZTE scandal connected with previous controversial deals such as the North Rail and South Rail projects?

Watch Ricky Carandang's report on the issue below. Hats off to him and The Correspondents for explaining the larger picture. Clips courtesy of Youtube user malfoyprincess.









In his blog, Carandang explains his report further. Treason, he writes.

Malaya columnist Ellen Tordesillas discusses why the joint seismic study agreement between the Philippines and China covers an area that laps the western shores of Philippines. "Sold: 24,000 sq. km. of Philippine territory," she writes. Here's another report on the issue from ABS-CBNNews.com and Newsbreak.

How much more can the Filipinos take?

This administration must not get away with this issue this time. If it does--the way it was able to do so in the past scandals since the "Hello, Garci" scandal--not only do erring officials get away again with their acts of wrongdoing. Worse, as a long-term damage, we allow the growing brazenness of the political class to commit corruption, undermine public and private institutions, escape prosecution, and continue to reign in this sorry land of ours.

Not in our name. Not in the name of our ancestors and heroes. Not in the name of our children and the future Filipinos to come.

Alert for Help

Got this from text.

"Juan Escandor, Philippine Daily Inquirer correspondent in Bicol, and his three kids, are being pursued and harassed by the Army's 31st IB of 9th ID after his ex-wife, who had left the underground, escaped a hunt last Feb. 10. Please appeal to the Armed Forces of the Philippines not to hurt Escandor and his three kids."

Increasing the pressure

What a week that was.

First there was the international conference on press freedom and impunity by the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) that kept me busy for the last few weeks.

Here's a report on the outcome of the event by Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter and conference participant Ryan Rosauro:

New campaign vs press killings launched
By Ryan Rosauro
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Journalists, lawyers, and human rights advocates have joined hands in pushing for bolder measures to fight the culture of impunity that has allowed the ballooning number of journalists killed in the line of duty and made a mockery of press freedom and democracy in the country.

The campaign was launched at the end of a three-day international conference on "Impunity and Press Freedom" at The Peninsula Manila on Friday that brought together legal experts and press freedom advocates from Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Journalists, prosecutors, judges, and human rights advocates from such countries as Colombia, Guatemala, Argentina, Spain, the United States, Indonesia, and the rest of Southeast Asia shared their experiences to help find solutions to the unabated and unsolved killings of "truth bearers" in the Philippines.

Read more here.

For more details of the conference, click here and here. I know there are a number of reports about the conference that are available as well, but I'm pretty swamped with emails and news alerts right now so I guess I have to post them sometime later.

And of course, there was last Friday's Makati rally. Manolo Quezon gives a comprehensive post of what happened, as well as links to other news, reactions, analyses, photos, and videos on the rally. Most of the CMFR staff were in the rally. I'll try posting some photos when I get back to the office.

Being a media reporter that I am, I am interested on how media organizations covered the rally. Malaya reporter Anthony Ian Cruz gives us a clue of the coverage.

Ricky Carandang, meanwhile, has this excellent entry on the $8-billion loan by the Chinese government to the Philippines and its grave, grave implications.

I guess not being online for almost a week has dire consequences for me. Lots of catching up to do.