Friday, October 21, 2022

Retards in the Government 280

It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government.

  

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1679609/baguio-councilor-lodges-slander-libel-raps-vs-magalong

Councilor Mylen Yaranon on Wednesday filed slander and libel complaints against Mayor Benjamin Magalong for accusing her of “twisting facts and figures” and “politicking.”

Yaranon, who filed her complaints with the Office of City Prosecutor, said Magalong made some “malicious imputations” that allegedly caused her “dishonor” and “discredited” her.

She said her slander complaint stemmed from Magalong’s speech during the July 4 flag-raising ceremony at the city hall grounds, while the libel complaint was for an open letter posted on Magalong’s Facebook page.

Yaranon and Magalong’s tiff stemmed from their dissenting opinions on developing the former Bibak dormitory lot on Harrison Road and issues about the rehabilitation of the city’s public market.

According to her, Magalong also accused her of not doing anything about the alleged sub-standard projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the city.

“Mayor Magalong clearly attacked and discredited my reputation not only as a public official but also as a person,” Yaranon stated in her complaint.

She added: “He (Magalong) insinuated that I am a person of no principle and a public official that is not doing anything on matters of public interest.”

The councilor asked for P500,000 to compensate her “moral damages, anxiety, depression and sleepless nights.”

One politician is suing another politician for slander and libel which has led to sleepless nights. 

https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/14/deped-employee-killed-husband-hurt-in-oriental-mindoro-stabbing/

A police manhunt operation is under way for a knife-wielding man who killed a disbursement officer of the Department of Education and wounded her husband on Thursday night, Oct. 13, in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro.

Col. Samuel Delorino, acting provincial police director, identified the fatality as 54-year-old Gina Pasumbal and the wounded as Ramelo Pasumbal, 60, residents of Sitio Santa Ana, Barangay Cacawan.

Police said the couple’s daughter, Jeniel Roselle, saw her father outside their house talking to the unidentified suspect who suddenly stabbed him at about 6:15 p.m.

Gina saw her husband being stabbed and shouted for help but the suspect ran after her and also stabbed her with the knife.

The suspect took the wallet of Ramelo and fled with the weapon.

The victims were taken to a hospital but the wife was declared dead-on-arrival by Dr. Ronald Phi, the attending physician.

The husband was later transferred to a hospital here.

Gina worked as a disbursement officer at the Diosdado Macapagal National High School in Gloria, Oriental Mindoro while Ramelo is an employee of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro.

A DepEd employee has been killed and her husband who works fo the Bureau of Fisheries has been hurt in a stabbing attack.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1186154

The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the murder conviction of a police officer who killed his boss, the municipal police chief of Talavera town in Nueva Ecija province, 11 years ago on New Year's Day.

The 12-page decision uploaded recently affirmed the sentence of reclusion perpetua imposed by the Santo Domingo, Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court Branch 88 on former Insp. Bernardo Castro who killed C/Supt. Ricardo Dayag Jr., 47.

Castro was likewise ordered to pay PHP225,000 in indemnity and damages to the victim’s kin.

Dayag confronted the intoxicated Castro after two shots were heard from the Talavera Police Station where Castro was the officer-in-charge for the day on Jan. 1, 2011.

Castro shot Dayag, initially hitting the leg, after the victim demanded that he surrender his firearm.

According to reports, 19 subsequent shots were fired at the fallen officer as he lay on the ground.

Castro then hid inside an ambulance parked near the municipal hall before responding policemen convinced him to surrender after about 30 minutes.

The CA dismissed Castro's claim that the prosecution failed to introduce evidence for the motive for the killing, adding that "motive is irrelevant in this case" and the accused "did not even disavow his having been identified as the perpetrator."

A cop who killed another cop has had his conviction upheld by the Court of Appeals.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1186230

Authorities have seized more than PHP2-million worth of illegal drugs and a firearm following a clash that resulted in the death of a high-value drug personality in Lanao del Sur province, an official said Saturday.

Col. Richard Verceles, operations chief of the Area Police Command-Western Mindanao, identified the slain drug personality as Abuhanan Sultan, 24, who is an incumbent councilor in Barangay Limogao, Saguiran town.

He said the clash occurred around 3 p.m. Thursday in a chokepoint established by joint police and military troopers in Barangay Mipaga, Saguiran, Lanao del Sur. The chokepoint was set up after the Marawi City police reported they were in pursuit of four suspected drug personalities fleeing towards Saguiaran.

According to Verceles, Sultan’s cohorts, Omar Macabago, a certain Nadir, and a certain Arab, fled when they saw Sultan fall during the clash.

Police recovered from Sultan some 300 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP2.04 million, a .45-caliber pistol, six empty shells, and a broken glass tooter.

A village councilor has been killed during a drug raid. 

https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/18/sandiganbayan-convicts-govt-official-of-sexualharassment-orders-payment-of-p10000-fine/

He regularly sent her flowers, food and messages of endearment. He even followed her on her way home and, in several instances, asked her that they check in at a hotel.

He is her boss at the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA). She is his administrative aide.

She had constantly refused all the sexual advances. When she could not bear anymore, she filed against his boss a complaint for sexual harassment.

In a decision, the Sandiganbayan found NCDA Deputy Executive Director Mateo A. Lee Jr. guilty of sexual harassment and was ordered to pay a fine of P10,000.

The Sandiganbayan found Lee guilty of the provision of Republic Act No. 7877, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995, for harassing Administrative Aide VI Diane Jane M. Paguirigan.

During trial, Lee admitted sending her flowers and food, visiting her house and church, and that he offered her rides and gave her gifts “to show his appreciation for her good deeds.”

“The foregoing constitutes judicial admissions,” the Sandiganbayan’s decision stated.

“The Court is mindful that accused Lee is visually impaired and even claims to be suffering from total blindness, although he himself asserts that he has developed a keen sense of direction and familiarity in relation to places he would frequently visit,” the court said.

It pointed out that Lee abused his authority over Paguirigan, since his actions are “out-of-the-ordinary” from the normal superior-subordinate relationship.

“It is worthy to note that nothing in the records shows that accused Lee acted in a similar manner towards his other staff members and/or employees at the NCDA to at least justify his acts towards the private complainant,” it said.

Lee said that his acts were done “in the context of friendship,” but the court disagreed since Lee would call her at midnight, gave her an “I love you” note in Braille, and even asked her to check in at a hotel.

A government official has been accused of sexual harassment for sending his subordinate flowers, food, love notes, and visiting her house. It should be noted that he is also blind but that is no excuse.  

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1186382

An ex-officio member of the City Council here and 10 others were recently arrested in an entrapment over an "illegal" ancestral land deal, the National Bureau of Investigation in Davao Region (NBI-11) said Tuesday.

In a statement, the NBI-11 said Kapatagan village chief Juanito Morales was arrested on Oct. 15 while inside the barangay hall signing documents about selling a portion of land identified as within the ancestral domain, which is prohibited by law.

Morales was also found to possess an undisclosed explosive, and a handgun at the time of his arrest.

The 10 other unnamed suspects were allegedly lured to sell their lots to the prospective buyer that turned out to be a member of the NBI’s entrapment team.

Morales is an ex-officio member of the 8th City Council representing the Liga ng Barangay here. 

He was also a past ex-officio member of the provincial board for the Federation of the Association of Barangay Council (FABC) in Davao del Sur.

On Monday, Morales was formally charged with estafa through falsification of public documents, illegal possession of firearms, illegal possession of explosives, and violation of the Indigenous People's Right Act (RA 8371 of 1997) before the City Prosecutor's Office here.

Lawyer Marc Dominic Fernandez, a member of the City Council and one of Morales’ legal counsels, said the suspect had to be brought to the hospital after fainting during the City Council's session Monday upon learning of the filing of charges.

A former village official has been arrested over an illegal land deal and charged with estate as well as illegal possession of explosives. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1681619/village-official-gunned-down-over-debt-in-cavite

A barangay kagawad (village councilman) was shot and killed by a debtor in Indang town in Cavite province Tuesday morning, Oct. 18.

Cavite police said in a report that Willy Costa, incumbent kagawad in Barangay (village) Buna Lejos 2, and Cerilo Berber had a heated argument at around 7:45 a.m. in Barangay Buna Lejos 1 over the latter’s unsettled cash debt to the village official.

Citing accounts by witnesses, police said Berber repeatedly shot the victim using a handgun.

The suspect fled after the shooting. The victim died while being taken to a hospital.

A village councilor was shot and killed by a man who owed him a debt. 

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2022/10/15/2216716/ex-cop-killed-gun-attack

A former policeman-turned-businessman was killed while one of his bodyguards was wounded in a gun attack in this city on Thursday night.

Alvin Perez, 49, was driving his sport utility vehicle with his two bodyguards when they were waylaid in Sitio Lumiyap in Barangay Divisoria. He died while being treated in a hospital.

“The motorcycle-riding suspects emerged from behind and fired on the victims,” Maj. Albin Cabayacruz, Police Station 5 commander, said.

Danny Boy Bellesa was wounded. Perez’s other bodyguard was unhurt as he managed to fire at the suspects.

Responding policemen recovered more than 60 bullet shells for a caliber 5.56 rifle and a magazine for a caliber .45 pistol at the scene. 

A former cop turned government contractor was assassinated by unknown men.

https://www-bomboradyo-com.translate.goog/butuan/pag-ambush-kang-pss-arnold-tanjay-sa-bayugan-city-padayon-pang-gi-imbestigahan-pro-13/?_x_tr_sl=tl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

The investigation is still ongoing with the police in Bayugan City in the province of Agusan del Sur in the ambush of Police Staff Sergeant Arnold Cafe Tanjay, 40-years-old, past 7:20 last night outside his home in Purok 3, Brgy. Mabuhay and currently assigned to the Regional Intelligence Division at the Police Regional Office or PRO-13.

In an exclusive interview with Bombo Radyo Butuan, PM Major Jennifer Ometer, spokeswoman for PRO-13, disclosed that the victim was able to shoot back at the suspect who was apparently panicked because the KG9 mm luger was left in its holster.  

In the follow-up operation conducted by the police, among those recovered from the crime scene were 12 discarded cartridge cases with one bullet from the weapon and one magazine that contained 21 bullets and another six cartridge cases left inside the victim police car.

This is in addition to the three cartridge cases that were left at a distance of 400 meters from the crime scene.

A number of angles are still being focused on in the investigation, especially since many cases have been handled by the official that is the cause of his firing, including his possible connection with the rebel New People's Army or NPA.

A cop was ambushed by unknown men for unknown reasons. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1682294/2-ex-cops-arrested-in-cavite-robbery

Two former policemen, who are the main suspects in a robbery incident in General Trias City, Cavite on Tuesday, Oct. 18, were arrested Wednesday, Oct. 19.

Cavite police, in a report Wednesday night, said Franklin Menor and John Carl Machon were arrested as a result of a manhunt.

Menor was arrested in Fairview, Quezon City at around 2:30 p.m. and yielded one caliber .45 pistol loaded with 10 bullets.

Machon was nabbed in Novaliches also in Quezon City at 4 p.m. with a caliber .9mm pistol and nine bullets.

The report tagged the two suspects as both dismissed police officers. However, the details of their dismissal from the police force were not specified.

The report also did not specify if the seized firearms have valid government documents.

The police report said the two and their four cohorts were behind the robbery of Abner Santos and his wife, Josie inside their house in Barangay (village) Santiago on Tuesday night.

The suspects barged inside the house and tied the victims and carted away the victim’s caliber 9mm pistol and assorted pieces of jewelry worth P1 million. The suspects escaped aboard a white van.

The investigators identified Menor and Machon as among the robbers. The police are reviewing the security footage to identify the four other suspects.

Two ex-cops who were dismissed from the force for unspecified reasons have been arrested for robbery.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Coronavirus Lockdown: Nearing Endemic Stage, Fell Short in Vaccination Target, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.

Last week a few Senators proposed shutting down the One health Pass which all travelers have been required to use to prove they have been vaccinated. Now low budget airlines are also backing this proposal.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1185995

Low-cost airlines AirAsia Philippines and Cebu Pacific (CEB) are backing calls to scrap the One Health Pass (OHP), saying some alternatives may be considered.

"As we head towards a strong air travel rebound, our passengers deserve a more convenient, reliable and hassle-free customer journey without sacrificing the safety net in our day-to-day operations," AirAsia spokesperson Steve Dailisan told the Philippine News Agency.

Senator Nancy Binay on Monday called on the lifting of the OHP, citing this has become impractical and inconvenient for many.

Passengers bound for the Philippines are required to register to the OHP, which Binay said has been a hassle to many returning Filipinos and overseas workers because this only adds to the screening procedures even if they are already quarantine-cleared and fully vaccinated with boosters.

The senator said overseas Filipino workers have been complaining that the process of verifying the OHP has led to long lines in the country's airports.

This was also observed by Carmina Romero of CEB. "Usually, there is a line of passengers who are unaware of the OHP, in check-in counters in our international destinations. I am sure they were sent an email about (OHP registration), but some passengers don't read notifications," she said.

Romero noted that OHP registration is also not easy for many, especially foreign travelers. 

"It is not easy for them to tick the boxes about specific details of their destination in the Philippines, such as which National Capital Region district, which barangay. A foreign national usually has a hard time answering that,” she said. 

She said without the OHP, a foreigner could instead be made to fill out an arrival card before landing. A returning Filipino, on the other hand, needs to prove that he or she is fully vaccinated or boosted against Covid-19.

"Maybe we should start considering these too," Romero said.

Dailisan, meanwhile, said AirAsia supports initiatives that will enable seamless travel among its guests, such as a unified electronic arrival card system that is customer friendly and accessible for arriving passengers.

Even the DOH is planning to review the "cumbersome" online requirements for travelers.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1679200/doh-to-review-cumbersome-online-screening-for-travelers

The Department of Health (DOH) has instructed the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) to review the content of One Health Pass (OHP), an online screening system for international travelers, amid calls from a senator to lift its implementation.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the officer in charge of the DOH, said the long list of details being required by the OHP can be “inconvenient” to passengers.

“When we reviewed the content of OHP, we saw that too many details were being required of our passengers,” said Vergeire. “Aside from submitting the requirements online, international travelers still have to go through the BOQ validation in our airports, which has caused long lines and delays.”

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian had also called the OHP system “cumbersome and an added red tape especially to tourists and foreign business people” who are planning to visit the country, and thus “should be scrapped immediately.”

Vergeire said the DOH would meet with other implementing agencies, including the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Tourism, on Thursday to discuss how to “further streamline the process” and make it more convenient.

Starting in September 2021, the BOQ and the DOTr-One Stop Shop have required the OHP as a way to process the mandatory health protocols and quarantine requirements of international travelers from their departure at their point of origin to their arrival and other onward destinations in the Philippines.

According to the OHP website, international inbound travelers are required to register on the system at least two days prior to their arrival in the Philippines. Proof of OHP registration will then be checked prior to flight boarding.

The two-page online questionnaire asks for their flight details, personal profile, and health and vaccination status. It also asks for the passenger’s occupation, the purpose of the visit, PhilHealth number, and residence details.

A personal QR code will then be issued to successful registrants. The code will be checked twice: during flight onboarding and upon arrival at the airport.

If it is cumbersome now it was cumbersome then. These protocols should never have been put into place. They inhibit travel by making it rather burdensome by having to jump through so many hoops.  Hopefully these barriers will be removed completely in the near future as the pandemic winds down and the world returns to normal. 

Quezon City has received an international award for its efficient COVID response.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1185986

The Quezon City government has been given the "Circle of Excellence" award, along with five other cities in the world, for its effective response to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Mayor Joy Belmonte personally received the award from the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) during the Fast-Track Cities 2022 conference in Sevilla, Spain.

"We dedicate this award to our healthcare workers and other front-liners who have put their lives on the line to address the needs of QCitizens during the pandemic,” Belmonte said in a statement on Wednesday.

“This is a validation of their hard work and the effectiveness of our Covid-19 response, especially in the delivery of basic services to the people,” she added.

Quezon City was selected by the IAPAC and the Fast-Track Cities Institute (FTCi) after a rigorous nomination and deliberation process in consultation with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

The cities of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, New York in the United States, Kingston in Jamaica, Johannesburg in South Africa, and Lagos in Nigeria received the same award.

Good for them. 

Many Filipinos have been dipping into their savings to pay for health costs during the pandemic. 

https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/10/14/2216657/amid-pandemic-more-filipinos-are-dipping-their-savings-stay-healthy

Over two years into the coronavirus pandemic and its economic onslaught, more Filipinos are forced to dip into their own savings to shoulder rising health costs in the country, as government support to keep its citizens healthy comes up short.

Health spending reached P1.09 trillion in 2021, up 18.5% year-on-year, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Friday.

Of that amount, 41.5% or P451 billion was paid out of households’ pockets. Data showed families’ out-of-pocket spending on health grew 9.2% year-on-year in 2021, higher than 4.1% annual growth rate recorded in 2020.

The latest report reinforces previous data which showed that overall, Filipinos regardless of age are spending more and more out of their own earnings to remain healthy.

This, while state spending on health slowed 16.1% on-year to P411.7 billion in 2021. Of the country’s total health expenditure, government support that came from its domestic revenues accounted for 37.9%.

Amid the pandemic, data showed P112.4 billion was spent on treatment of illnesses that now correlate with severe or critical cases of COVID-19. The figure was up 362.5% year-on-year and accounts for 10.3% of the country’s health spending in 2021, from just 2.7% in 2020.

The problem gets worse if one would consider the Philippines’ old population. With most senior citizens likely retired, chances are ballooning health expenses are exhausting their life savings, forcing them to rely on their families for support. 

This problem affects senior citizens more than others as they are forced to exhaust what savings they have. Another thing affecting senior citizens is Undas. One Cebu City councilor wants to make sure unvaccinated seniors citizens can visit the cemeteries this year. 

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/469178/zafra-allow-unvaccinated-senior-citizens-to-visit-cemeteries-for-undas

The Cebu City government is not keen on restricting senior citizens from entering or visiting public cemeteries for the Undas 2023.

Cebu City Councilor Philip Zafra, chairman of the Committee on Public Order, on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, said they had not recommended to Mayor Michael Rama to disallow unvaccinated senior citizens from visiting public cemeteries during the occasion.

(No. What we are saying is there are a lot of vaccinated people in Cebu City unlike the other areas.)

(The template that we are adopting is the template prior to COVID times. That is what we are applying now.)

While Cebu City claims to have more vaccinated people than in other areas Northern Mindanao admits they have failed to reach their vaccination goals.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/13/doh-northern-mindanao-admits-it-fell-short-in-vaccination-target/

The Department of Health Region 10 admitted it failed to meet a certain target to vaccinate people against Covid-19 within the 100-day period set by President Marcos Jr.

Dr. Ellenietta Gamolo, the DOH-10 assistant director, said in a phone interview on Thursday, Oct. 13, that the region (Northern Mindanao) has only achieved 74.27 percent vaccination coverage for senior citizens and 24.31 percent coverage for the first booster vaccination for the general population as of October 12.

The 100-day Presidential directive actually ended on Saturday, Oct. 8.

Under the presidential directives, the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) has been tasked to ensure all units of DOH, including the local government units (LGUs) and other stakeholders to reach the 90 percent coverage for the primary series among all A2 (Senior Citizen) category and 50 percent coverage for the first booster dose vaccination for the general population within the first 100 days of the Marcos Jr. administration.

Out of the five provinces and two highly urbanized cities in the region, only the province of Camiguin and Iligan City achieved the 90 percent target for the senior citizens, with 91.61 percent and 90.59 percent coverage respectively.

For the 50 percent coverage for the first booster dose vaccination, only Camiguin province was able to hit the target with 50.47 percent coverage.

However, Gamolo said that DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire has lowered down the target for the first booster dose vaccination to 30 percent on October 8, as many LGUs are unable to achieve the original target due to some intervening factors.

“All LGUs are doing their best to achieve the target because of the instructions, once they reach that, there might be a little changes to our health protocols as there are a lot of people who are already vaccinated,” Gamolo said in vernacular.

Funny that they have to lower the target rate because many LGUs are unable to meet the original targets.

Once again the public is being told that the virus is on the way to becoming endemic.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/10/14/2216516/philippines-may-be-nearing-covid-19-endemic-stage

An infectious diseases expert said that the country could be nearing the COVID-19 endemic stage as cases are now on a downward trend and severe and critical infections remain low.

“If you look at the cases, even globally, cases are already trending down, which means that the number of cases for the past week is stable. There is no significant increase although there is also no significant decrease but it is trending down to the point that it looks like it is becoming stable,” Dr. Rontgene Solante told “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News the other night.

Solante, head for Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the San Lazaro Hospital, also noted that the country’s health care utilization rate continues to be stable at less than 50 percent.

“That is the situation for almost two to three months now,” he said of the hospitalization rate for COVID-19.

“What we use as basis is that if we are able to manage the infection, or if it is already controlled. So most likely, we are already on the brink of that (endemicity),” he added.

The medical expert explained: “When you say endemic, the virus is still here with us but is not able to disrupt our livelihood, our mobility and we are able to  control where we are headed – is it towards cases going up, or becoming stable, or on a downward trend.”

However, Solante said the country still needs to strengthen its health protocols, including intensifying efforts for vaccination before endemicity sets in.

It's funny because the DOH already said COVID-19 was becoming endemic back in April.

Since face to face classes have started the DOH says there has been no uptick of COVID in schools. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/11/22/no-covid-uptick-among-kids-since-school-opening-doh

The Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday it has not recorded an uptick of COVID-19 cases among the pediatric population since Aug. 22, the start of School Year 2022-2023 that saw a widespread resumption of in-person classes.

Health Undersecretary Beverly So said the DOH remained supportive of in-person classes but also recognizes that COVID-19 cases would be present due to increased mobility.

"Categorically speaking, when we are looking at the trends for pediatric population since Aug. 22, we didn't really see an uptick," Ho said in a press conference.

"But what is important for all of us is to recognize 2 things: one is klaro sa amin (it's clear to us) that the face-to-face learning is superior, not just for education but for the health, holistic development ng mga bata. So we're very supportive of that," she said.

"Second is we need to recognize that as we go out of our houses, magkaka-uptick tayo (we will have an uptick). It's just a matter of time. But we want to reassure everyone, that's why we have technologies like vaccines."

Ho added that hospital admission rates have not increased.

(The more we go full blast face-to-face, it will really go up. What we don't want is the number of cases increasing alongside the hospital admission. But if the cases increase and hospital admission did not, we've done our job. We've protected ourselves enough from vaccines.)

There is no uptick but it's just a matter of time. They really can't help themselves with the fear mongering.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

The Movement for Media Reform Is Just Another Pro-Marcos Propaganda Group

The Movement for Media Reform is one of several propaganda groups formed after the May elections which saw the Marcos family return to Malacanãng. Ostenisbly MMR is a group of likeminded people who have banded together to lobby for media reform in the Philippines. Before looking at their mission statement or "What we do" it would do well to look at who forms their core group.

Now, being that this is a group advocating media reform one would think that the core members, like the man who formed the National Union of Philippine Journalists (NUJP), would all be journalists. You would be mistaken.

https://movementformediareform.com

Out of these 11 people only TWO describe themselves as journalists. TWO!!! Compare that to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) which was founded by NINE journalists.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) is an independent, nonprofit media agency that specializes in investigative reporting. It was founded in 1989 by nine Filipino journalists who realized, from their years in the beat and at the news desk, the need for newspapers and broadcast agencies to go beyond day–to–day reportage.

https://pcij.org/about/

Let's take a look at this motley crew of...journalist reform lobbyists? I don't know what to call them but they aren't journalists though they think they can tell journalists how to do their job. Imagine shouting at your mechanic from the sideline as he tries to fix your car. It's the same thing.

First up is the big dog René Astudillo. I call him the big dog because he is the first listed and he authored the MMR's mission statement as we shall see. 


This guy is the only one who claims to be a regular journalist. According to his Linkedin profile he is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association but he lists no media outlets as former employers in his CV.  He also studied mass communication at St. Louis University in Baguio City. Aside from those two blurbs there is nothing to indicate he has ever been a practicing journalist. Currently he is a Human Resources manager. 

René's biggest claim to fame is being the creator of The Adobo Chronicles. This is where the Satirist sobriquet comes into play. Founded in 2013 by Astudillo The Adobo Chronicles describes itself as follows:

THE ADOBO CHRONICLES  is your source of up-to-date, unbelievable news. Everything you read on this site is based on fact, except for the lies.

https://adobochronicles.com/about/

The site has become so popular that Astudillo had to reformat it so that people could tell what was factual from what was false because so many people were taking it all as being factual. 

NEW FORMAT: The Adobo Chronicles has recently adopted a new format to help readers distinguish between fact and fiction. Statements and paragraphs in our posts that are in italics  represent the facts.  The rest are fiction. (Note: This does not apply to our Adobo Chronicles’ Fact Check: Fact-checking the Fact Checkers.)

One of the most recent posts mocks Leni Robredo for receiving an honorary degree from Harvard.

https://adobochronicles.com/2022/09/07/even-puppets-receive-honorary-doctorate-degrees/

It’s been much ado about nothing, this honorary doctorate degree given by Ateneo de Manila University to former Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo.

Honorary degrees are now known as a celebratory gesture and hold no weight in society, though some recipients use the Ph.D title and add it to their curriculum vitae, despite being urged not to do so. 

So, don’t get excited if you or anyone you know and look up do receives an honorary Ph.D. Even puppets get them. Literally!

Where is the joke?  This is awful!  I did this joke back in 2017 when Duterte was awarded an honorary degree by the UP. AND I included Leni because she also recieved a honorary degree from the University of Saint Anthony in Carmines Sur.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2017/04/on-honorary-degrees.html 

The Adobo Chronicles is so unfunny they won't even show the joke that muppets, NOT PUPPETS, get honorary degrees.  It's lame!

Here's another anti-joke from the Adobo Chronicles. 

https://adobochronicles.com/2022/08/22/president-bongbong-marcos-orders-retention-of-august-21-as-a-national-holiday/

It’s perhaps one of the most difficult decisions President Bongbong Marcos has had to make so far: to retain August 21 as a national holiday.

August 21 is the death anniversary of Ninoy Aquino, and is the birthday of the First Lady, Lisa Araneta Marcos.

But it is also common knowledge that August 21 is the anniversary of the Plaza Miranda bombing which many believe to be the works of anti-Marcos and communist elements. It resulted in the death of 9 people and injury to 95. Aquino was mysteriously absent during that Liberal Party rally.

Marcos’ decision came in the form of an Executive Order.

All’s well that ends well.

What is funny about this? The fact that the enemy of Marcos' father is Ninoy Aquino and a holiday celebrating Aquino is the same day as his wife's birthday? That's not very funny. Definitely needs some work. How about this send off of Duterte:

https://adobochronicles.com/2022/06/16/rodrigo-dutertes-legacy-colorful-philippine-foreign-policy/

At noon on June 30, 2022, Ferdinand (Bongbong) Marcos, Jr., takes his oath as the 17th President of the Republic of the Philippines.

As we look back to the past six years under Rodrigo Duterte, his colorful foreign policy, marked with unique diplomacy comes to mind. It is a legacy that could define, or redefine the country’s standing with the world community.

Tagged by many as a departure from the Philippines’ long-standing attachment to Uncle Sam, Duterte opened the door for harmonious and beneficial relationships with its Asian neighbors and world powers that matter. 

Today, the Philippines has earned multiple distinctions as a province of China, a Federated State of Russia and Prefecture of Japan.

Six years may be too short for a good President. Another two years in duterte’s term could have made the Philippines a Caste of India. Who knows?

Again, where is the joke? Remember the regular font is supposed to be the funny stuff. But the fact is, as can be seen in the picture, Duterte's pro-China stance did cause some to mock that the Philippines is now a Province of China. A Caste of India? Does Astudillo even know what caste means? It's so terribly unfunny. And this is the guy who wants to reform the media. 

Let's look at the rest of the crew. We don't even have to go in-depth because their listed qualifications say it all.

Hedda Tady - Educator/ Content Creator

Epee Rafanan - Culture Advocate/ Events Organizer

Jeremiah Odra - Business Operations/ Marketing Comms-PR

Peter Serrano - Actor/ Trainor/ Host/ Advocate

Emil Bichara - Trainer/ Public Speaker/ Life Coach

PJ Cabrera - Mobile Journalist/ OH Nurse/ Influencer. This is the second guy on this list who claims he is a journalist. But what is a mobile journalist? Sounds like something he made up. 

Brian Neyra - Artist/ Designer/ Geopolitical Observer Isn't anyone who reads the news a geopolitical observer?

Julie Odra - Community Development Consultant

Melchor Vergara - Entrepreneur/ Netizen Everybody who uses the internet is a Netizen! 

Orman Manansala - Banker/ Blogger

Out of all these people Hedda Tady, Brian Neyra, and Melchor Vergara have contributed to The Adobo Chronicles and Epee Rafanan is mentioned in an article. 

In San Francisco, Epee Rafanan, co-founder of a Filipino American gay social organization, Barangay, said  teaching gayspeak in Philippine schools is long overdue.

https://adobochronicles.com/2015/08/13/gayspeak-to-be-taught-in-philippine-schools/

Let's look at the mission statement of The Movement for Media Reform.

The Movement for Media Reform was born out of the changing landscape in the news media, characterized by increasing citizen participation in the spread of information on the Internet. Bias and ideological agenda on the part of some in the mainstream news media (MNM) have always been a given but have surfaced more clearly as they tried to desperately keep their standing as the only legitimate source of information.

MNM became threatened, having to compete for revenue as well as subscribers and followers. Survey after survey has shown the declining trust in the news media by audiences and consumers. It is amid this scenario that concerned individuals banded together to form an online movement aimed at reforming the news media in the hope that someday soon, they will regain the people’s trust as a fair, balanced and legitimate source of information needed for nation-building.

  • Being a movement of volunteers, we rely on our members and supporters to help us achieve our mission, and to actively participate in the things that we do. In summary, we ascribe to our 3 C’s: * Check the facts * Call out bias and promote the truth * Create trust in the news To this end, some of the things we do include (but are not limited to):
  • Fact-check the fact checkers.
  • MNM and fact checkers do not have the monopoly of truth and accuracy. We will strive to call out news sources that knowingly or unknowingly spread disinformation.
  • We will constantly remind news sources (individual journalists and news brands) of their responsibility to provide their audiences with factual information, void of editorializing, self-serving news slants, or obvious propaganda.
  • We partner with reputable polling firms, like Publicus Asia, in disseminating results of media trust and other news-related surveys so that news consumers are guided in their choice of information sources.
  • We engage our membership to weigh in on important issues related to news media responsibility along with our own membership polls, summaries and results of which we forward to appropriate agencies and organizations in both the government and private sectors.
  • As resources become available, we will convene journalists and social media influencers to participate in skills-building workshops, training and webinars, inviting speakers and experts to discuss responsibility under Freedom of the Press and Free Speech.
  • We will use all available social media venues to promote and generate support for our mission and activities both locally and international.

https://movementformediareform.com/what-we-do/

The Movement for Media Reform is not pleased by the Mainstream News Media (MNM) because not only do they have biases but they also want to be seen as the only legitimate source of information. But trust in the MNM has eroded. Therefore the MMR wants to act as a buffer between the MNM and the public. They want to fact check the fact checkers, alert news sources to their biases, and eventually convene journalists and social media influencers to build their skills and "discuss responsibility under Freedom of the Press and Free Speech." But who fact checks those who fact check the fact checkers?

Now, the only responsibility anyone ever has is to tell the truth whatever it may be. Judging from the way the MMR has been operating so far they are not very interested in truth. In fact in their Twitter feed there is hardly anything about media reform or calling out biases. There is a lot of calling out the usual suspects DDS has been targeting for the past six years.  This includes Leni Robredo, ABS-CBN, and Rappler. Take this tweet for instance.

https://twitter.com/MMR4MediaReform/status/1559898661542596610

News media should invest in hiring competent headline writers…otherwise they end up with captions akin to this : “Police shoot dead armed man” instead of “Police shot an armed man dead”. :)

In a rush to mock Rappler the MMR only shows their ignorance. First of all this is not a Rappler article. It is from the AFP who sells articles to news outlets around the world. Second of all "to shoot dead" someone is grammatically correct English. Just Google it


Here is another instance of MMR attempting to fact check someone and ending up with egg on their face.

https://twitter.com/MMR4MediaReform/status/1556068543963078657

What Richard Heydarian is saying here is why should anyone care about mass atrocities from 40 years ago when EJKs in the past few years didn't cause anyone to blink an eye? Rene Astudillo, the big dog of MMR, feigns outrage saying, "He wants people to be INVESTED in mass atrocities???" Does he think Richard wants people to financially invest in mass atrocities? How much more stupid can he be? René is doing this not because he is for media reform but because he does not like Richard Heydarian's politics.

The fact is René Astudillo and the MMR are not for genuine media reform. What they really want is for the media to stop talking about the evils and crimes the Marcos family have foisted and continue to foist upon this nation. Here is René Astudillo actually defending the brutal Marcos dictatorship.

https://twitter.com/MMR4MediaReform/status/1550780297414725632

Of course there is no smoking gun on MMR's Twitter feed. Nothing that says the Marcos family is innocent. But there is this:

https://twitter.com/MMR4MediaReform/status/1536892981202255873

"There are two sides to a story." This is exactly what the Marcos revisionist and denialist crowd has been saying for a number of years. The thing is we know the whole story. It has been told in books, in newspaper articles, and most importantly in court records. Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda plundered the nation and had their critics imprisoned or murdered.  That is simply a fact of history that no amount of memes or tweets will ever change. 

Here is proof that the MMR cares very little about actual journalists and the danger of being a journalist in the Philippines. Rather than condemn the assassination of radio broadcaster Percy Lapid they essentially blame him for his death. 

https://www.facebook.com/movementformediareform/posts/129857346473781
In the murder of radio anchor Percy Lapid
No one is suppressing free press we don't know the whole story of his life and who he bumped into.
Let's not avoid comments against "press freedom" because until now we are free to express and air.

We don't know who he bumped into? True enough and while this assassination may turn out to have nothing to do with his journalistic activities the fact is the Philippines remains dangerous for journalists. Percy is the 5th radio broadcaster to be assassinated this year. Yet these frauds at the MMR cannot even bring themselves to acknowledge this fact and condemn the killing of journalists. Instead they hide behind a pretend impartiality saying they do not want to "jump the gun."  Could it be because Percy was an outspoken critic of Marcos and Duterte and the MMR is all about protecting Marcos from all criticism? Indubitably. Now we are told by the killer that he received his orders from New Bilibid prison

Does the media need reform? Sure. The news can be reported better with less biases and more pertinent information. The Philippine media should stop showing dead bodies even if they are blurred. And dissenting voices should be allowed without fear of being red-tagged which can turn out to be deadly. In the Philippines journalists are killed with impunity rather often. But don't expect the Movement for Media Reform to discuss any of that. They are just another of the many propaganda groups seeking to shield Marcos from criticism for both his and his parent's crimes.