Illustration by RENAN ORTIZ
Sup(press)ing freedom
Tags: President Duterte
Media are part of the problem
That former TV broadcaster who’s running for senator under Sara Duterte’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago party isn’t alone in denying that the Duterte regime is a threat to press freedom. There are other former and still practicing broadcast, print and online media people who have never quite understood that the most fundamental values in journalism are…
Arsenal of oppression
Not even child rights advocates have been saying that children are incapable of committing crimes. Neither has anyone said that children are angels. But in reaction to Senator Risa Hontiveros’ opposition to the bill lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 12, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte made it seem as if those two assumptions…
Catch that debris
By DEE AYROSO
Church people gather vs. injustice, lies
“…that same faith compels us to tell the truth and to denounce the ungodly conduct of those who failed to rule with justice.”
Patria et Iustitia
By DEE AYROSO
That was 2018
When historians recall in their books a hundred years from now what the year 2018 was like, they won’t be focused on the six-month shutdown of Boracay or the number of “credible” aspirants for various local posts in the 2019 elections compared to “nuisance” candidates. Neither will they devote entire chapters to the attempts by…
Can reconciliation gain impetus in the new year?
“As we take part in the festivities during this joyous occasion, may we also contemplate on the wealth of lessons we can learn from the narrative of the Savior’s birth to the calls of compassion, kindness and reconciliation being echoed throughout the globe. “Let these ideals and aspirations guide us as we embrace our fellowmen…
Terrorism by another name
“Do not bully anyone. Just because you’re in power doesn’t mean you have the right to insult others… the bully who uses power to belittle others is the most cowardly and most insecure person of all.” (Translation from Filipino mine) Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle did not name anyone in his Dec. 16 simbang gabi(dawn…
Misreading the news media
Denmark’s Ambassador to the Philippines said he “reads” the media, but has apparently been misreading them. He said “some media” are “systematically negative” in their reporting on the government, but his subsequent statements sounded as if he was describing most, or even all of them. If anything can be said about the news media today,…
Groups hit ‘treacherous’ Duterte-Xi Jinping meet
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat.com MANILA – Progressive groups here have assailed the meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese president Xi Jinping as a treachery as the agreements signed between the two leaders will not benefit the Filipino people. On Nov. 20, Duterte welcomed the Chinese leader in Manila for a two-day state…