House of Representatives to pass Right of Reply bill tonight?

Word is that the House of Representatives will approve the Right of Reply bill tonight, June 3, in a marathon session that will last into the wee hours of the morning. Those who are against it, protest while you still can. Meanwhile, I am reposting the Foreign Correspondent’s Association of the Philippines’ (FOCAP) position on [...]

Philippine journalist on military’s Order of Battle

Carlos Conde, who writes for the New York Times, just found out that he is on the military’s list of order of battle. He is the only journalist on the list. At least one person on the list has since been killed.
This is not the first time that a reporter has been included in the [...]

Fajardo: No survivors in heli crash

Statement of Deputy Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo: The Bell 412 Heli Tail Nr:1946 piloted by Maj. Sacatani and Capt. Alegata with its passengers, namely Bgen. Carlos Clet, Usec Malou Frostrum, Director Pearl Bandayanon, Usec Joe Capadocia, PSG Demy Reno, has been located in Mt. Panatoan, north of Mt. Pulag. There are no survivors.

Missing heli found: three dead, burned beyond recognition

**update: Malacanang confirms there were no survivors in the crash.**
The missing helicopter was found in Tinoc town in Ifugao province on Wednesday, with three bodies burned beyond recognition. The report on the casualties differ, but mainly because the official line is only three are dead so far. There are reports that two more bodies have [...]

Right of Reply forum

CenterLaw, the Open Society and the UP Journalism Club held a forum on the Right of Reply Bill Tuesday morning at the UP College of Mass Communication. Short notes on the forum, to add to the ongoing discussion about the Right of Reply Bill.

The Right of Reply Bill

On its face, the Right of Reply bill legalizes a right already recognized in practice by every self-respecting, ethical journalist: the individual’s right to air his/her side of the story. (Click here for both the House and Senate versions of the bill).
This is nothing but fairness, which is at the heart of every good journalistic [...]

The DFA’s Christmas party

that red thing is pakwan, served as dessert

AFP IMPOSES ANEW MEDIA PROFILING — from PDI reporter Julie Alipala, reporting from Zambo City

In the military’s Western Mindanao Command (WESTMINCOM) camp, reporters are now required to submit to a “profiling” process, according to Inquirer reporter Julie Alipala. For security reasons, they were told. This might be understandable if the reporters hadn’t been covering the camp for years and were familiar with many of the soldiers and the officers [...]

The press is more free in Nicaragua, Kosovo, Thailand, and Malaysia

The Philippine media is not Asia’s most free. The Reporters san Frontiers ranks the Philippines 139th in its 2008 report on press freedom, down from its slot of 128th last year. The Philippines is below Malaysia, Thailand, and even Timor-Leste. It is several slots down from Chad and Sudan, where the report said that “the [...]

Goodbye, Joegar

The last time I saw him, he looked almost the same as he did, 10, 15 years ago. From what I knew, Joegar was a good man — he didn’t play around, he wasn’t grumpy (many editors are, when they’re at the desk; there’s something about editing that takes the humor out of a person), [...]