TREVOR ISBELL WRITES – After suffering years of government corruption, public anger in the Philippines has reached a boil and President Benigno Aquino III is finally being forced into action. Facing a massive and well-organized protest over a public works funding scandal, Aquino told the nation he’d do better. Janet…
Category: Philippines
PHILIPPINES: Social Media Slaps Sticky Fingers in ‘Pork Barrel Scam’
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Gone are the days of handing out flyers or haranguing your friends on the phone to support a worthy cause. Now all it takes to turn out a mega-march is a juicy scandal and populist call to arms on Facebook and Twitter. Filipinos gathered August 26…
ART SPOTLIGHT: Kris Soguilon Emphasizes Our Similarities with Pomp, Circumstance and a Dash of Sex
The artist’s take on his work: “A sense of fusion may emerge from a multiracial society even as each individual culture manifests its own uniqueness. Cultures may clash, but the differences also draw together in a particular way to present perspectives peculiar to the mix, as can be enjoyed in London, New York and Singapore. The spectator who steps back to look at the differences may encounter the experience of an elaborate celebration.” […]
PHILIPPINES: Bright Future with Broadened Media Freedom
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Gone is the fear of being imprisoned for liking an offensive photo on Facebook. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is revising the currently suspended 2012 Cybercrime Law and in the process has dropped the provision penalizing online libel. According to Geronimo Sy, head of the DOJ…
TAIWAN: Death of Fisherman Sparks Tension with Philippines
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES – A tide of anger is rising between the Philippines and Taiwan after the Filipino Coast Guard shot and killed a Taiwanese fisherman in the strait of the South China Sea separating the two nations. Since the shooting in the middle of May, media in the Philippines,…
PHILIPPINES: Getting Away with Media Manslaughter
LAUREN CHEN WRITES- Hopefully this murder won’t become another unsolved media mystery. Recently, radio broadcaster Mario Vendiola, 33, was gunned down and killed in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay. On his motorcycle ride home, Vendiola was shot 3 times in the chest and was declared dead before reaching the hospital. He was…
PHILIPPINES: Web Tyranny in the Social Networking Capital of the World
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – The Philippines, nicknamed the “Social Networking Capital of the World,” must watch out. Not only for stealth advertising, but for violating the supposed-to-be suspended Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Facebook dominates Filipino Internet as the country’s most visited website, even more popular than Google. Further, the…
PHILIPPINES: Suddenly Things Are Looking Up — Almost
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Despite solid macroeconomics, further economic development in the Philippines needs to be more inclusive in order to be sustained. The Philippines future is bright with its recent favorable position to sustain growth in an “exceptionally grim international landscape” and predicted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate.…
MALAYSIA: Excuse Me, That’s Our Island!
MARLENA NIP WRITES – Filipinos are fed up with their Malaysian neighbors, and claim that a large portion of the country rightfully belongs to the Philippines. Sabah, the northernmost state of Malaysia, has historically been part of the Philippines. The waters first became murky between the two countries when Malaysia…
PHILIPPINES: Can Media Cooperation Mediate the Sabah Crisis?
In the middle of the ongoing territorial dispute over the Sabah between the Malaysian government and the Sulu Sultanate, the Inquirer and GMA 7 are the first Filipino news teams to be accredited by Malaysian authorities to go in-country and cover the crisis. Despite the Malaysian government’s reported ban on…
PHILIPPINES: The Time Is Now
The Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) has sparked much controversy in the past few weeks. The bill was originally introduced in 2010, but due to lack of quorum, was not passed. Recently, the FOI bill has incited debate between legislators and members of the press regarding whether or not it…
PHILIPPINES: Justice for Journalists in Maguindanao Massacre
The Supreme Court stood by its June 2012 ruling that affirmed the Court of Appeals’ decision to include former Governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in the list of those accused in the Maguindanao massacre. He is charged with plotting what would turn out to…
PHILIPPINES: A Revered Lady Journalist Dies
After a six-month battle with cancer the renowned Filipino journalist Zenaida Silva has died. Silva was instrumental in covering the famous “people power” revolt, as well as many other important political events in the Philippines. Journalism is in the family for Silva – she and her late husband, newspaper writer…
INDIA: China’s Passport to Trouble
China is at it again! Existing territorial conflict between New Delhi and Beijing over Arunchal Pradesh is no concern of the past. The controversial issue has been revived as China recently took matters into its own hands, launching new e-passports in which it showed the regions of Arunachal Pradesh and…
PHILIPPINES: Hey Obama- Call Us Collect, If You Want!
Almost immediately after the reelection of President Barack Obama, the White House announced that he would visit Myanmar (Burma) as his first foreign policy initiative at the start of a three-stop tour of Southeast Asia that will also cover Thailand and Cambodia. The tour excludes the Philippines, a longtime strategic…
PHILIPPINES: Arrest Sparks Heated Debate Over Cybercrime Law
You want to hear ridiculous?! Filipino environmentalists and Internet users have rallied behind Esperlita Garcia, an anti-mining advocate who was arrested on libel charges for a critical post on her Facebook. She was arrested despite the Supreme Court’s suspension of the law that was used against her, which was actually…