help for victims of typhoon ondoy ('ketsana')

posted on YouTube by user mcfly1151985

For donations and/or inquiries:

1. ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya Hotline: +632 4132667 / +632 4160387 / +632 4163641
2. Bureau of Fire Protection Region III (Central Luzon) Hotline: +6345 9634376)
3. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD): +632 9517119 / +63918 4217890
4. GMA Kapuso Foundation: +632 9289351 / +632 9284299
5. Marikina City Rescue: +632 6462436 / +632 6462423 / +63920 9072902
6. Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA): 136 / 16220 / 16211 / +63917 5592884
7. National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) Hotline: +632 8333203 / +632 8383354
8. National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) : +632 9125668 / +632 9111406 / +632 9115061 / +632 9122665
9. NDCC Help hotlines: +632 7342118 / +632 7342120 / ndcchelpdesk@gmail.com
10. Pasig Rescue Emergency Number: +632 6310099
11. Philippine Coast Guard: +632 5276136
12. Philippine National Red Cross: 143 / +632 5270000
13. Philippine National Red Cross Rizal Chapter operations center hotline: +632 6350922 / +632 6347824
14. Quezon City Rescue: 161
15. San Juan City Hall Command Post: +632 4681697

posted on YouTube by user bongvideos

"shooting the messenger"

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) issued a statement on former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada's libel case against the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI).

I reproduce it here because it is worth reading. If you've been following the news on this issue lately, and if the libel case left you scratching your head as well, then read this:

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

18 September 2009
NUJP statement on Erap's libel case vs PDI
Reference:
Nonoy Espina, NUJP Vice Chair, 09127196633

Estrada is shooting the messenger

Former president Joseph Estrada is barking up the wrong tree by including editors and reporters of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in the libel suit he has filed against taipan Alfonso Yuchengco, who claimed Estrada had forced him to sell his shares in the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

Yuchengco was backing allegations raised by Senator Panfilo Lacson in a privilege speech against his former boss.

It is unfortunate that Estrada has chosen to target the messenger instead of addressing the message.

What the Philippine Daily Inquirer did was simply to publish a factual report on a matter of interest, quoting one of the players in Lacson's expose. In short, it was simply following up on a story, and rightly so, since the truth or falsity of Lacson and Yuchengco's allegations could impact tremendously on a major sector of our economy as well as become another benchmark of the quality of governance in this country.

As reported by the Inquirer, Estrada, in filing his case, claimed Yuchengco's statements were not true and were only maliciously meant to destroy his reputation. We will not even argue his assertion for that is for him and Yuchengco to prove either way.

What we will dispute is his assertion that the Inquirer should not have printed the September 16 story because Yuchengco's statement was not a verified document because it did not have the businessman's signature.

Surely, as an actor and politician, Estrada realizes that his statements have been quoted probably a million times without the need for his signature, as many other public or even private figures involved in matters reported on by the press have been. Surely, there have been countless times when he has, in fact, sought media out to quote him on this issue or another. In this instance, in fact, media did seek him out for his side of the issues hurled against him.

And in this instance, it is not only media's right but, in fact, its responsibility to dig deeper into the allegations of Lacson since these involve matters of public interest. And who better to seek out than the very person Lacson claimed had been victimized?

It is, of course, not the first time the Inquirer has felt the wrath of Estrada. When he was president, he pulled out government ads from the paper in retaliation for its reports on his mansions and other issues of governance.

It is unfortunate that Estrada, who time and again has professed to be a victim of injustice, has not learned that the best and only defense in times like this is the truth, unless of course it is not on your side to begin with. Shooting the bearer of bad news has never helped. You may silence the messenger but the bad news will still be there to haunt you.

"no news is good news"

The title above is meant to justify my absence from this blog. I have not been blogging elsewhere, and though there was a lot to blog about, I just didn't have the time.

+++

I wonder (a little) about how 9/11 was remembered today. I didn't see any coverage of special ceremonies or other acts of commemorating the historic event that certainly changed lives -- at least on the news programs I watched.

Food for thought for the day:

How has 9/11 changed media coverage?

How would peace journalists have covered 9/11?

How can peace journalism prevent another 9/11?

online youth unite

It's about time young netizens of the world were recognized as a force to reckon with.

This article from inquirer.net strengthens the idea that today's online youth can do much, much more than IM and connect with their friends on Facebook or Myspace.

According to the article, the US State Department plans to tap online youth groups in the fight against terrorism and crime.

To get things started, 17 youth groups will come together on December 3 to 5 for a conference at the Columbia University Law School.

Although groups without an online presence will also participate in the conference, these plans demonstrate that having an online presence is an empowering force.

In many cases and for countless organizations and even individuals worldwide, it spells the difference between having a worthwhile cause and mobilizing people for that cause.

Read more about the US State Department's plans to empower online youth here.

mariannet's story

When the news about the suicide of 12-year-old Mariannet Amper first broke out, it seemed to be an open-and-shut case. After all, she came from a poor family; that's why she took her own life. She lived with her parents and brother in a tiny house without electricity and water. Her parents took odd jobs: Magdalena earned Php50 (less than $1.25) a day working part-time in a factory and washed other people's clothes on the side, while Isabelo did construction work. So poor were they that other kids in their community in Davao reportedly would not even play with her and her brother.

If not for Mariannet's diary -- a class project -- and an unsent letter to the television program "Wish Ko Lang" (How I Wish), the world would probably never have known what life was like for this little girl. Her dreams were simple -- jobs for her parents and an education for herself. Yet, for want of transportation money, she was unable to go to school; nor did she have a bag and shoes to use. 

So on 2 November -- All Souls' Day -- Mariannet took some nylon rope and hanged herself. End of story. End of life.

Or so everyone thought. Yesterday, the newspapers reported that Mariannet had been raped. And this most likely contributed in a big way to her taking her own life. 

But suicide is never a simple case. Especially if it is committed by a 12-year-old, whose life at that age is really just beginning. After all the finger pointing, the preaching, and the hype Mariannet's suicide has generated, how will the media now report the case? Poverty is not uncommon  in this country. Nor is it something you can hide. You can see it wherever you go. What about the sexual molestation of young -- and poor -- girls, often by people they know and trust? It's not uncommon either. The only difference is that the latter is a more delicate issue. It speaks of a deeper malaise. No one wants to talk about it. 

Mariannet's story has become darker, more sinister, yet no less common -- that of innocence lost and hopes dashed. How many Mariannets are out there, still hoping for a better life? Will their stories even be told?

she loves me, she loves me not...

As I write this, Asia News Network associate editor and former Bandillo ng Palawan editor-in-chief Jofelle Tesorio is free again.

She was released after some 10 hours in prison. Why was she even there, to begin with, considering that she had already posted bail?

love-hate relationship
This happened just a day after the newspaper headlines screamed that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was seeking the media's help in the last leg of her presidency. It makes one wonder about her relationship with the Philippine press -- a love-hate relationship, to my mind.

I still remember that infamous press conference that members of the Foreign Correspondents' Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) were banned from attending. FOCAP members observed that not even the late President Marcos did such a thing.

Then came Proclamation 1017, which placed the country under a state of emergency. Though it lasted for just a week, it was enough to create a chilling effect. The office of The Daily Tribune was raided, and a military presence was established in other media organizations.

change of heart
And of course who can forget the First Gentleman's libel suits against some 40 journalists last year? These were all magnanimously dropped after Mr. Arroyo's successful heart surgery in April this year. Looks like he had a sudden change of heart (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun).

But he wasn't the only one. On 15 June, the Philippine Daily Inquirer carried a story about the President promising "to end the killing of journalists and protect them from libel suits and arbitrary arrest." She also called upon all journalists to join hands with her administration "in mutual trust and common purpose so that all the violence will be stopped."

Since Ms. Arroyo assumed office in 2001, 51 journalists have been killed.

ask not what the media can do...
This is undoubtedly a president who knows what the media can do for her and her administration.

She is aware that the media can play a huge role in the downfall of a president, as it did in the case of her predecessor. She knows how relentlessly the press can pursue a story to uncover the truth, as what happened in the "Hello, Garci" affair. And she feels the watchful gaze of international media and human rights organization who are determined to make her administration accountable for infringements on the freedom of the press.

Is she now eager to show what she can do for the media?

relief
The Philippine press heaved a collective sigh of relief as Jofelle walked out of detention in Quezon City. Whether this relief is temporary and short-lived will depend on whether the President makes good her promise to put a stop to the killing, suing, and arresting of journalists.

Read more about Jofelle's arrest here.