April 30, 2010

For the Inquirer today, the most important news is the results of the most recent survey by Pulse Asia.



While at our radio broadcast, Sentro ng Katotohanan (DWBL-AM 1242KHz, 8.30-9.30PM TTh), we try hard to tell our audience that surveys do not have any value to the voters, especially in their selection of candidates, and at the same time, that surveys are important only to the candidates - to determine for themselves their course of action, and as we now realize to use the same as propaganda to create a bandwagon effect, the Inquirer by putting it in its headlines (Estrada ties Villar; Aquino up 19 pts. Prepare for surprise of your lives–Erap.) just made sure no one listen to voice of reason. With about 10 days to go before the elections, the main headline indirectly says that Aquino is the sure winner.

Not content on the survey gain of Aquino, the headline even "mistakenly" says that Aquino is up 19 points, while of course the real news is that Aquino is up only 2 points. Well I am sure the Inquirer had that wrong banner because of the physical limitation on print space (they can even tell that to the marines):

Had the elections been held last week, two out of every five registered Filipino voters (39 percent, up 2 points) would have voted for Aquino, standard-bearer of the Liberal Party, Pulse Asia said.

Surely, by treating the survey results as headline material, the news favors Aquino and Estrada at the same time while is outright negative to Villar and the rest of the pack.

Some glaring omissions though include the fact that the Inquirer report did not even ask Pulse Asia as to who commissioned the survey. They didn't even report what the actual questions the respondents were asked. They didn't even ask nor report the methodology used. It is as if the Inquirer have commissioned the survey themselves and believed it as gospel truth.

I checked on Pulse Asia's website which had the following statement to say who commissioned the latest survey:

Pulse Asia undertakes pre-election surveys on its own without any party singularly commissioning the research effort.

So Pulse Asia did the survey on their own volition (the marines has a lot of listening to do, I suppose). But what do they mean when they say: "there is no party singularly commissioning the research effort"? Does it mean there are parties "plurally" commissioning it?

Reading through the other news in the front page, there is none that can diminish the tilt towards Aquino of the Inquirer today. Even the feature on Gordon which mainly shows what Gordon thought of himself cannot even pull the news itself a bit to his favor.

With a newspaper like this, Sen. Benigno Aquino need not even print his campaign materials.

So, who is the Inqiurer headlines rooting for? The score goes:
Aquino: 12
Estrada: 1
All the rest: 0

April 29, 2010

The result so far of our monitor here is that the Philippine Daily Inquirer front page news reports are tilted heavily in favor of the Aquino camp, and tilted heavily negatively against Villar. It seems, today is no different..



Undoubtedly, the main headline has Villar is a black propagandist (Aquino tags Villar volunteers) all over it, they could have replaced the headline with it and it would have been consistent with the report. In the news report though which says that it was the wife of a NP supporter who sent the first Psychiatric email, a critical reader would see that it seems to show that it is not so. For how can a source receive it from someone else? And why would the source of the black op ask for confirmation?

The e-mail of Delgado’s wife, forwarded by Lacierda to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, showed that she received it from someone. She asked if the signature of Fr. Tito Caluag, who signed the first report, was genuine.

“I got this in the e-mail, just now. I have never been one to forward destructive e-mails unless verified. But looking at Fr. Tito’s signature, as far as I can recall, it does look authentic. Unless of course, somebody did a copy-paste. Can you verify this with him please? I seem to have lost his mobile number,” her e-mail said.

An attachment to the mail was the fake evaluation of Aquino by Caluag.

However, the news report, far from clearing things up left it at that.

Meanwhile, the Inquirer preempts the COMELEC ruling on the manual count of votes (Unanimous Comelec decision out Thursday and Namfrel now to tally, count, canvass votes ). The reports includes comments from the COMELEC and from the NAMFREL. If a report is meant to propagate the LP line of media topics, it does benefit Noynoy whichever way the report goes, although we won't count them as such.

The news report on the Villar side about black propaganda is obviously against Villar and of course does benefit Noynoy (Villar: I’m swimming in sea of black prop). It is so obvious by the way the news is written. For example, the writer agreed with the LP line that the two fake reports came from a Villar supporter, even if there is no confirmation of such:

It was the second such report in as many weeks released by Delgado on the purported mental state of the Liberal Party standard-bearer, who is leading Villar in the surveys.

In fairness though, the above report gave ample space to Tamano but from the angle that the NP spokesperson is creating a crack within the NP.

For the first time since we monitored the Inquirer front page though, there is a news today about Villar (and JC Delos Reyes) that is purely positive for him. This come in the form of an endorsement from hairdressers which Ricky Reyes leads, and from the Couples for Christ (Ricky Reyes, Couples faction back Villar). Is this news enough though to offset the negative treatment of Villar in today's issue? I don't think so.

Still, there are other news but it seems they do not endorse nor benefit any of the candidates.

I say today's issue benefits Noynoy Aquino, is very negative to slightly positive for Villar, a bit positive for delos Reyes, and quite ignored all the other candidates.

So, who is the Inquirer tilted for? The score goes:
Aquino: 11
Estrada: 1
All the rest: 0

April 28, 2010

Today, Sen. Villar is on the headlines of the Inquier Front Page.


Obviously, the news about Villar (Villar presses ‘psy war’, Report fake, say Ateneo, Jesuit shrink) is patently negative about him and positive about Sen. Aquino. Rather than give enlightenment, the news confuses its readers. It is confusing that the person interviewed (supposedly an NP supporter) says that he is not the source of the report and he is somewhat releasing it for some confusing reason, but not necessarily believing in it:

Delgado said the report was brought by an unidentified messenger to Villar’s volunteer office at Starmall in Mandaluyong. (The mall is owned by Villar.)

“It was in a brown bag when it was given to me by a volunteer in the office,” he said.

Delgado said he released the report because of his concern that people might think that the document, should it turn out to be a fake, came from the Villar camp.

He asked media to check the veracity of the report. “It’s not for me to verify it. I did not also believe the report and you (reporters) should verify it yourself,” Delgado said when asked if he believed the report.

Asked if releasing the report to the media could boomerang on Villar, Delgado said: “My concern about the document goes beyond just the candidacy of Manny Villar. I’m a private citizen. I love my country very much.”

While the Inquirer news did not report anything to confirm that Delgado is indeed a Villar supporter, the paper also left the confusing statement at that. However, in total disregard of the statement of the supposed Villar supporter, the Inquirer totally blamed the Villar camp as the source in the first sentence of the report:

Releasing a second “psychiatric report” in as many weeks, the camp of Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Manuel Villar Tuesday claimed that Liberal Party presidential candidate Benigno Aquino III was diagnosed as suffering from depression and melancholia when he was a college student.

The Inquirer also squarely tagged the Villar camp as the source of a first report of similar nature which has since been denied by the camp:

Like the priest cited in the first report leaked by the Villar camp, another priest who allegedly signed the second report and Ateneo de Manila University declared the report bogus.

Asked about the new report from the Villar camp, Aquino said: “Our enemies are becoming desperate.”

It will also be noted that while statements from Aquino are given space, there was not any quote coming from Villar himself. Surely, the one-sided report plainly says that the Villar camp is engaging in black propaganda, that is all. To my mind though, this is the first and only time I can remember where everyone is informed who and where a black propaganda, if it indeed is, is coming from.
The other news about Sen. Villar (Villar on ma: She can’t take it anymore) is still negative about him and surprisingly gave positive coverage of Estrada. Although it gave space for Villar's complaints, it used Villar's competition to quash Villar's own arguments. From reading the Inquirer lately, one would only have the following conclusions about Villar:
> He resorts to black propaganda
> He uses his mother to cry for his campaign
> He is a liar, he is rich even when he is young
> He manipulated the PSE
> He used his position to re-align the C5 extension

I have browsed through the special report on dynasties (Little has changed in politics and poverty in S. Luzon) and it seems not to have benefited anyone from the Presidential candidates. The news on the death of the former governor of Batangas, Sanchez of NP, also comes out nothing about any of the Presidentiables, while it featured a press statement from Remulla who is an NP senatorial candidate.

The news feature about Jonas Burgos (Edith Burgos to light 3 candles for Jonas) also did not mention any of the candidates. It came out negative for the Arroyo government though. The news about Benguet elections is devoid of any reference to national candidates (Cold Benguet not hotspot since 1900s).

Although the news on the manual count (Palace, 3 bets oppose manual count) is obviously on the agenda of the LP camp, it does not include any interview from them, seemingly to avoid any connection. It included interviews from some Presidentiables such as Gordon and Teodoro. The report suceeded to impart subtly that the Palace and the three candidates have similar sides. Also, while the idea of parallel manual count seems lacking in logic, the Inquirer has not pressed the proponents about it. Instead they chose to report the media bits coming out from different sides in seemingly apathetic manner. The news to me could come out at best neutral if not negative to Villar, Gordon and Gibo for being on the same side of the Palace.

The Gordon interview about surveys (Gordon: Aquino paid for polls; Teodoro: I was never asked), although did not have anything bad to say about Gordon, obviously left him hanging with his own seemingly unsupported attacks against the survey firms and on Aquino. I think it did not give a positive picture of Gordon nor was it able to paint Aquino negatively. The news also covered Teodoro which could have either be a bit positive or neutral on possible effect to him.

In the end I judge that this issue of the Inquirer front page is all negative about Villar, mostly positive about Aquino, a little bit positive about Estrada, slightly negative to Gordon, slightly negative to Teodoro and almost neutral to all the rest. The score on which the paper benefits most therefore goes:
Aquino: 10
Erap: 1
All the rest: 0

If there is someone who receives the most negative news in the Inquirer, that person would be Villar.

Note: BTW, I was not able to read nor have a glimpse of yesterday's headlines. If I get a hold on yesterday's issue, I will still report it here even belatedly.

April 26, 2010

While the Yahoo home page includes the AP report on the QC slum fire yesterday on the top three of its world news, the Philippine Daily Inquirer seems to have missed the event all together (or at least not in their front page). Yesterday, being a Sunday, perhaps there may be no reporters on duty. Or perhaps the fire is not worthy of headline treatment, as we see a lot of them anyway, as far as the Inquirer front page editors are concerned. In fairness to the Inquirer, I do not have the actual paper though, so I do not really know if they reported the fire at all (as of 7AM, the news is not to be found on inquirer.net).



In any case, looking at the headlines, the Inquirer Front Page today seem devoid of any favorable treatment to any of the candidates, unless of course one would say that the news about parallel counts and COMELEC corruption are the topics the LP and their candidates are all so raring to talk about.

The main banner reports (Comelec exec tagged in secrecy folder deal. Lawyer says directive to suspend bidding defied.) a supposed secrecy folder bidding in 2008 which a lawyer supposedly working under COMELEC Chairman Melo reported to the PPCRV. While we expect "news" to enlighten us of the events, I am now having the habit of expecting the Inquirer reports to muddle the same issues they headline. This specific report does not include the dates when the reporter interviewed the source of the news, a lawyer supposedly working under Melo, who instead of reporting to Melo reported what he knew to the PPCRV who then reported the same to the COMELEC's Rafanan and who in turn wrote it eventually to Melo. Of course, the very blatant question we want answered upon reading the report is why the source did not report directly to Melo. The report also misled me, at least, that the content reports the current secrecy folder problem and thus naming who the executive is is really big news. Well, the news disappoints. In any case, the report, although has not directed any blame to the current commissioners, puts the COMELEC into a negative light. I would be conservatively be saying that no "Presidentiable" today benefits from this report, although it could be argued that this line of topic could have only come from the Liberal Party (but we cannot say definitively).

The front page has a special report, supposedly first of a series (Congress won’t end reign of political dynasties), which seems neutral to the national candidates. We will see later (coming issues) as to how the story is played out.

The news about the Defense Department's plan to purchase "old" planes (Old planes on DND shop list, says bet) is definitely beneficial to LP Senatorial candidate Ruffy Biazon. There is also reference to Sen. Noynoy Aquino, rendering the report favoring the LP bet.

A brief Reuters report on the "Presidentiables" position on private armies (Next president can’t stop slays, says watchdog) made it to the front page. It is somewhat negative to the 4 candidates considered (Aquino, Villar, Estrada and Teodoro) and also negative to the current President.

The report about the President's congressional campaign is surprisingly neutral (Candidate Gloria hits campaign trail). I did not find any hint of negative reporting on the Mrs. Arroyo except that she is reported to have sang with Lilia Pineda (alleged to have connections to Jueteng), and that his son is running for a Party list seat representing Security guards.

On the top corner of the paper is the report on the demand by some groups (yesterday's news) to do a parallel manual count on the election votes (Comelec meet Monday on parallel manual count). The report itself is generally neutral although it gave wider space to the demand rather than on its obvious foolishness. In a matter where normal minds would have asked questions to those who demand the manual count, the Inquirer let it pass and just let those affected to air their own sides, press releases we can say. To me, it is obvious that the LP is behind this idea. However, I cannot say whether the Inquirer is reporting this to favor the LP. Conservatively, I say this report is neutral and does not benefit any candidate (although it does, really).

The AFP (Agence France-Presse) news about Yellow stick-ons, looked at first to be an Aquino coverage (Yellow stick-on still a hit at 30). But no, it is about the real 3M stick-on Post-it-Note which is having its 30th anniversary. It does not talk about any of the candidates at all.

The final news we see on the front page is an interesting news about the Fil-Canadian Boy who was discriminated for using a spoon (Fil-Canadian boy wins damage suit). There is no mention about any candidate in the report.

So for whom is the Inquirer front page going today? Again, I find it surprising to find it harder to make the call today. I say though that the front page benefits Aquino with a news of some reference to him. The topic of the main headline also is surely to the LP bet's liking. The point though is that the last 3 days is harder than the first 9 days front pages to judge. It is either the Inquirer has read our monitor and starts cleaning its act or has just become more subtle in their endorsement to avoid any charges. Given that for three days in a row, the Aquino camp is given even a slight only advantage, I give today's front page to the LP candidate. So the score now stands at:
Aquino: 9
Estrada: 1
All the rest: 0

April 25, 2010

If one knows who is pushing for manual count, then one knows who the Inquirer is giving a favor today.


The main headline today counts the number of days before elections (CountDown: 15 days to Go. COMELEC: No parallet manual count) and highlights the COMELEC's response to the Liberal Party's demand/request for a parallel manual count.

It seems that the paper tries to hide that the LP is the main party pushing for the separate count, the report uses the Makati Business Club as the source of the demand:

Asked if the poll body had rejected the proposals of groups like the Makati Business Club and a loose coalition of information technology professionals to conduct a partial parallel manual count of the votes, Larrazabal and Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said a random manual audit would do the job.

The news though presents almost wholly the COMELEC side on the issue and thus this time gave a positive coverage for the commission. Sen. Aquino and the LP is not mentioned in the news, so we cannot say it favored Aquino, although the MBC is said to support him. So I will conservatively count the coverage as not to have favored any of the Presidential candidate.

The election 2010 coverage news with Gordon in the title is not just about Gordon (‘Shady’ Gordon thrills Bohol golden girls). It is mainly on-the-road accounts of various candidates, including Gordon, Erap and Aquino. I say the said news report does not favor any of the candidates, although it is a bit positive for those covered, especially Gordon for having his name in the title.

JC Delos Reyes is at last covered today in the front page(JC: We’ve gone this far, that’s a miracle). It is mainly a report on a Delos Reyes interview and the writer is emotionless as far as reporting it. Nevertheless, this piece is positive for JC and I therefore give it to have favored him.

A news report comparing politics to theater seems to have favored no one (Politics as Theater).

This report gave a lengthy negative opinion on the campaign of Villar:

Take Manny Villar, the most obvious example simply for his ubiquity.

Villar’s commercials are the height of variety and sophistication, and the persona showcased in them is never less than appealing. Not only have they cost enormous sums, but the candidate himself has also been game to do everything to appeal to the broadest possible market.

Onstage, he’d be The Eager Beaver.

So far, Villar has done bodabil (dancing with kids); Method (immersing himself in grime to prove his humble origins); inspirational (poor kids—again!—swaying to the season’s catchiest melody); ironic (the early rap-style “Akala mo trapo” jingle); literate (the palindromic ad with lines reacquiring currency when read backwards); stylish (his pitch for the Nacionalista Party’s women candidates).

Anything that would stick, Villar has tried, short of breaking the taboo on using family tragedies to summon sympathy votes... But wait, he’s done that, too.

Meanwhile, what the report can comment on Aquino is only on the latter's seeming discomfort in being the center of attention, consistent to a non-trapo image Aquino is trying to maintain:

Noynoy Aquino’s ratings indicate he has perhaps the strongest show, though he himself lacks Villar’s thespic consistency.

Aquino’s first commercial, a glossy, high-toned effort with a phalanx of dreamy-eyed photogenic stars converging on him with torches in their hands, ended with the camera fixed a second or two longer on him. But his painful deer-in-the-headlights look betrayed the man’s natural diffidence and discomfort at being the center of attention.

Call him The Ingenue—well-meaning and earnest but, in terms of public presentation, still finding his groove. Certainly it’s not being hip or edgy. His second TV spot had him doing rap, in a voice that sounded as odd and flat as the commercial itself.

Aquino’s newer ads have showcased marked improvement—once a listless speaker, now he’s more relaxed, the talking points well-delivered.

His “Kurapsyon ang problema” spiels have acquired a tug of truth to them partly because he’s learned how to say them in an engaging way—what tone to use, which word to stress, where to pause for effect—accompanied by furrowed brows, no less.

“If he were an actor, I’d tell him, Good job, but you need more workshops,” says Joel Macaventa, a former theater actor and advertising guy.

Vera agrees: “His body language! He still doesn’t know what to do with his hands!”—incidentally a common problem among tyro actors who have yet to find an organic anchor to their movements onstage.

“He’s improved tremendously,” says Quintos. “I think he’s become presidential; he has acquired a sense of purposefulness. But he’s had to grow into it.”

Erap is also treated quite negatively:

"He looks old without the benefit of wisdom,” explains Quintos. “There is no image of the statesman in him, no promise of change. His visage doesn’t appeal to the youth.”

Both "loose cannons" Gordon and Madrigal are treated negatively, and so are the "quixotic" Perlas and Villanueva. Gibo Teodoro on the other hand is given the usual treatment he receives, "he is good if only not for Gloria".

Although supposedly an equal treatment to all the candidates, this news piece is surely for Aquino. The news reminds me of when applying for a job and asked your negative trait, you will have to say something that sounds negative but is not really negative and in fact a positive as to what image one is trying to project.

Another election news cover three of the senatoriables (On their own in the name of their fathers) and did not refer to any of the Presidential candidates, so I give it a neutral judgement. The news on Willie Nepomuceno's Presidential impersonations is funny and should not be taken as to have favored anyone (Willie Nep’s reality hit bites: Palace bets ‘Gut Talent’).

The question again now is, who this front page gave real positive coverage to? I say the front page is positive to Aquino in both direct and subtle ways, positive to JC, slightly negative to Villar and all the others. If I count the manual counting push as an Aquino agenda, I would have to judge the front page as tilted toward Aquino. But since the main news gave prominence to the COMELEC side, I rather give the news to have given equal favor to the LP and the AKP candidates. So it is hard to name the person favored today, so I say it did not favor anyone, for the 2nd day in a row.

The score therefore stands at:
Aquino: 8
Erap: 1
All the rest: 0

April 24, 2010

Today, the Inquirer front page is again about Sen. Villar.


While yesterday, the Inquirer seems to say on its own that Villar has a problem (Problem with Hellos) and the paper seem to have been misleading in headlining that the SEC said Villar manipulated stock rules (SEC Bares NP bet used influence to twist stock market rules), today, the paper left only Villar and his lawyer to defend themselves (Villar: I violated no Law). While the Inquirer is deeply involved in the main headline yesterday, today it seems they are saying "we are just reporting the news". While yesterday they say Villar is a bad person, today they say Villar is not bad, but that is according only to Villar himself.

There are other things that can be noted from the report.
> The paper did not focus on the direct rebuttal of the facts which would have meant that the Inquirer is wrong on giving a negative treatment to Villar yesterday
> The news reported the Villar camp as saying that former President Estrada had wrong information, they forgot to mention that their headline yesterday did not actually point to Estrada as the source of the news. The Inquirer is their own source of the negative news about Villar yesterday.
> The subtitle is still negative all the way for Villar (saying: "But critics say it was wrong for the NP Bet to pitch for his business interests"), pushing further the running issue against Villar (that even if it is legal, is it ethical?).

Did the headline report come out positive for Villar today? I cannot say so, because answering a negative would never result to anyone being a positive. The best that it can muster is a neutral effect. But I may be wrong, so I give it a little positive grade though going for Villar on the news report itself but negative on the headline.

The other news on the same topic refers to a response from the SEC and the PSE (PSE, SEC: Nothing irregular). Basically, the SEC and the PSE said there is nothing to it. It is not irregular, there is nothing wrong, there is no manipulation. The SEC and the PSE basically said yesterday's news is trash. For me, it indeed is. In the end, the news still gave space to Enrile's allegation saying that the PSE suffered credibility.

“Because of the short-cut committed by Manny Villar, many followed suit. Many more investors in the stock exchange could have been duped and suffered losses. Manny Villar and his conspirators in the PSE destroyed the integrity of the Philippine Stock Exchange,” Enrile said.

The Inquirer though did not ask if Senator Enrile has investments in and have since removed them (his investments) all from the stock exchange to prove that the PSE really has lost its credibility (as far as he is concerned). A news report like this show how little regard the paper has for the institutions that are besmirched by irresponsible statements coming from politicians. But since Villar's side is given space, I may say that the news is a little bit positive for Villar.

The third news (Vista Land ‘non-issue, can’t kill senator; it’s politics, he’s a survivor’) about the same topic seems to be coming out entirely from another paper. While the media outlet already has and know the explanation (although they did not say if it was acceptable or not), this other news seems outdated.

In a conversation with the Inquirer in May 2009—when talk first surfaced about his purported impropriety in pushing for the immediate secondary offering of shares of Vista Land, the parent company of his business empire, in July 2007—Villar said other presidential aspirants had been trying to do him in these past many years, and that this issue was just one more attempt to go for the kill.

Obviously, the Inquirer knew of the charges since May 2009, and should have dismissed the same then. As to why this rehashed story is given headline space since yesterday, we can only guess. Although this third story is majority from a Villar point of view, I still think it results into something negative for Villar as it kept reminding us (or it kept insisting) about the issues about him from "the C5 to the PSE".

Surprisingly, the news on Roxas and Binay (The race for No. 2 shaping up: It’s Roxas vs Binay) comes out negative for Noynoy Aquino as it has some valid points coming from an administration lawyer:

Macalintal reminded Aquino that it would be the “height of ingratitude” if he went along with Escudero’s endorsement given the “political sacrifice” made by Roxas in giving way to Aquino’s presidential aspirations.

This same news is of course positive for Binay, a little bit negative for Roxas. The title itself though is very negative for Legarda, saying in effect that the latter already lost its popularity and going down in the VP race.

The news on the DND last minute spending (DND chief buys arms in ‘last 2 minutes’) somehow comes positive for Noynoy Aquino with a quote from nowhere coming from him. Indeed, Sen. Noynoy is the luckiest of the candidates he is always given free press:

Aquino warning

Speaking before diplomats on Thursday, Aquino warned foreign governments and suppliers against entering into “midnight contracts” with the outgoing Arroyo administration.

Foreign offers

The Liberal Party standard-bearer said graft-ridden, “supplier-driven” deals to modernize the AFP were “being rushed even as we speak.” He said any such midnight deals would be scrapped if they turned out to be disadvantageous to the government.

We can only say that the politically innocent sounding headline silently endorses Sen. Aquino and comes out positive for him.

With nothing but quotes or a "he-say-she-say" news reporting regarding the failed coup plotter Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim (Lim retells it like it was: Esperon, Senga in ’06 plot), I say it just goes to promote Lim's candidacy and therefore is positive for the LP senatorial candidate.

I cannot find from the Inquirer.net the news in its front page about the Pasig LP Mayoral bet, although it was there earlier today (it was apparently removed, I am not sure why). Meanwhile, the news about the manicurist and the gardener appointed to some government posts (Search committee found manicurist, gardener qualified for gov’t jobs) still feels very negative to the President, although I might say rightfully so. It however doesn't have any fact to begin with, still the media does not really know who these people are while already feasting on it with harsh comments.

So who is the Inquirer going for today? I say the news stories comes out as a small rebound for Villar, a bit positive for Aquino, and a whole lot of disregard for all the other candidates. In the VP front, the news goes very well for Binay, a bit negative for Roxas, and a whole lot more negative to Legarda.

In the end, I still say the paper as a whole goes negative for Villar, because in reading the headline, the charges to him stays and given undue recognition. There is no one among the presidentiables apparently given clear positive coverage though and I cannot call who the Inqiurer favored today. So the score stays at Noynoy: 8, Erap: 1, All the rest: 0.

Update (April 25, 2010):
Late night yesterday, I got hold of a paper copy of the Inquirer and got to read the news I missed (the one regarding the Pasig LP Mayoral candidate). The news is, of course, a promotion for the said candidate. There is mention of Sen. Aquino who is treated as a very positive endorser. I say that bit of news gives positive favor to Aquino.

Meanwhile, when the headline news continued to the inside pages, there was a reaction from Sen. Aquino under another title regarding Villar's supposed PSE manipulation, wherein the former thanked Estrada/Enrile on coming out with the proof. The news is brazen propaganda however lost seemingly Noynoy's reaction. It clearly shows how Noynoy will cling on non-issues and try to enlarge them saying there is "proof". I give that news as purely Aquino's. So looking back to yesterday's post, the Inquirer Front page has tilted to be in favor of Aquino. But still the effect of the news on Villar, as to whether it is positive or negative is hard to determine. Being therefore a conservative observer that I am, I still leave it as a favor to no one.

April 23, 2010

Today, the target of the Inquirer Front Page is Sen. Villar..



By the way the main headline is written, the reader would be led to believe that the Inquirer has just caught a snake by its head. The title (Villar: Trouble with hellos) obviously attracts readers. The subtitle though (NP bet used influence to twist stock market rules) is the Inquirer's direct conclusion. Meanwhile, the more complete subtitle on the paper itself (SEC Bares NP bet used influence to twist stock market rules) seems to be an outright misrepresentation, even of the report itself. I cannot say that the report is made to confuse but the first few stanzas are quite a spin:

Hello Fe! Hello Francis!

Sen. Manny Villar called Fe Barin, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Francis Lim, then president of the Philippine Stock Exchange, many times sometime between May and June 2007, the Philippine Daily Inquirer has learned.

But the calls, according to SEC and PSE lawyers and brokers interviewed by the Inquirer on separate occasions, were “too many to be easily dismissed and forgotten.”

They couldn’t forget about the calls either, they said, most especially because Villar, then Senate President, wanted the SEC and PSE officials “to throw the exchange rules out the window.”

Reading through those stanzas, I became quite confused as to who said what. Was it Barin (SEC Chair) and Lim (PSE Pres.) who said they cannot forget Villar's calls? If that is what the news seem to say, it is not what it meant. It was actually the unnamed SEC and PSE lawyers and brokers who said that. Did the report say their sources are unnamed? No. They were SEC and PSE lawyers and brokers. The news report by its subtitle is saying something but it quite confuses as to who it came from. To me, there is none more blatant spin than how the Inquirer designed this news.

Another amazing fact is that the news report did not say when they interviewed the unnamed SEC lawyers and brokers, although it seems they knew of it (whatever it is) since last year:

How Villar managed to get his wish shocked some SEC and PSE lawyers and stockbrokers. Five of them talked to the Inquirer separately at the height of the controversy surrounding an ethical complaint lodged by Sen. Jamby Madrigal against the billionaire-senator last year in connection with the multibillion C-5 road diversion controversy.

If they know it since last year, the Inquirer did not say what prompted them to report it just now. Oh well, I am "sure" it doesn't have anything to do with the elections (yeah right).

Going back, the news is about the supposed lock-up in escrow of secondary shares of the Vista land offering which "rule" Villar is supposed to have asked to be thrown out the window. The news did not say whether there is an exemption in the rule and whether Villar's shares where not qualified to such exemption. The news report makes it appear that the "rule" is contained in a rare document and found only by some diligent researchers:

The rule, according to a PSE document obtained by the Inquirer, requires a company to cause its shareholders owning at least 10 percent of its issued and outstanding capital to enter into an agreement not to sell, assign, or in any manner dispose of their shares within the 180-day period from the listing of the shares.

The 180-day rule effectively puts the secondary shares in escrow mainly to allow the public buying into the primary shares to have their due course, stabilize the market share of prices, and to prevent the majority stockholders from abandoning the company which could take place during a secondary offering.

Of course, one can easily find examples in the internet of such rules being applied. One can also easily find out that if a shareholder owns only 10% of the offering, he is exempted from such rules. I am not sure if the rule applies to Vista land, but the point is: We are not provided with enough data in order to appreciate the facts.

From the report, here are the facts that we can gather:
1. That Villar make telephone calls to the SEC and PSE chairpersons (how often we do not know and what they discussed we do not know),
2. That Villar is in a meeting with the PSE board (what was discussed we do not know),
3. That a Villar company was able to offer secondary shares within 180 days from the primary offering (if they got an exemption on the lock up and on what grounds we do not know), and
4. That there are unnamed lawyers and brokers who talked to the Inquirer about rules in the PSE and who are quite shocked for reasons unclear.

In short, after reading the report, we do not have any facts to begin drawing any opinion.

Meanwhile, from the opinion written all over the report, we gather:
That the Inquirer thinks that it was SEC who said that Villar twisted the rules.

Quite a big jump from the facts, isn't it?

Obviously, the news report is a news report very negative to Villar. And it even has a part 2 (supposedly Villar's response) possibly tomorrow.

If the above is not enough, the next news report entitled (‘Vista Land should answer issue, not me’) mainly rebukes that Villar do not want to answer the allegations when he should answer it.

Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Manuel Villar Thursday chose to ignore yet another attack hurled by a rival, this time involving his shares in property firm Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc.

"Yet again", we know what the news reporters opinion is, that Villar is "yet again" "chose" or choosing not to answer issues.

Instead of discussing the nitty-gritty of the sale of his shares, Villar urged the media to rely on a press statement issued by Vista Land early in the day.

With the writers opinion that while Villar should talk details, Villar just gave us a press release. Maybe, the writer would like to say that Villar side is just propaganda ("press statement") making mute the point by point rebuttal by a Villar lawyer, Nalen Rosero-Galang, that follows within the report itself.

Atty. Galangs point is that credible companies handled the listings and selling of shares of Vista Land and that all dealings are above board and public knowledge. But since the Inquirer thinks that Villar should answer it perhaps by himself, we can easily be led to believe that perhaps Galangs rebuttals are mere propaganda.

So I say this report is as negative as can be to Villar.

Now as if that is not enough and perhaps Villar is such a masochist and might want to receive more spanking, the entire main headline news report, almost word for word, is repeated, only this time with former Pres. Estrada, the proven plunderer, and Sen. Enrile, one of the Architects of the Martial Law in Marcos' time, as source (Estrada, Enrile accuse Villar of pressuring PSE on stock sale). Read the news and you would know somehow you read it already, from the same issue of the paper!

Needless to say, Villar is in total negative territory. Reading these news alone, I can't help but realize that after this, Judas might be conferred a Saint by Pinoys compared to Villar. Perhaps, the worst Pinoys would be as follows in order of corruption:

3. Marcos, the most corrupt until Arroyo
2. Arroyo, the most corrupt until Villar
1. Villar, the most corrupt person in the country and most especially if he becomes President

Of course, now as if by habit, there would be not a day without a positive Noynoy press release. The next news (Aquino warns: I’ll void ‘midnight’ appointments, deals) doesnt actually need a writer. If there is the most blatant press release cum news cum advertisement, it is this one. The entire news is a quote from an entire Aquino speech. It is a news report where he said, he added and he told what he said and that is all and everything in the report. The writer should have just pointed to us the whole speech.

The next news (Why Escudero all the way for Binay, not Roxas) is much like a press release for Binay by Escudero, a continuation of yesterdays press release. All I can say is that it obviously benefits Binay. The report about Gordon suing the survey firms (Gordon sues survey firms, seeks damages) is not about the Gordon case but the pollsters defense so it does not go well for Gordon himself, try as he may to be included in the news. It is obvious that the Inquirer gets ample and quick responses from affected parties when they want it denying Gordon free press. There are still two news reports about AGra that is still negative for the government.

So all in all, the Inquirer front page today is positively going for Noynoy, ultra-negative against Villar, positive for Binay, negative for the government, mute for Gordon, and did not give coverage to any other presidential candidates.

The score now stands at Aquino 8, Estrada 1, all the rest 0. If there are negative grades, Villar would be the most negative hands-down.

By the way it is going, I am not sure why I am still doing this. With barely 16 days before the elections, I cannot see anymore how the Inquirer will balance its news, unless it gives purely positive news for Villar and cover the rest of the candidates from now on. I wouldn't be surprised if in the coming days, the Inqiurer would be as blatant as having the following on its headlines:

Headline 1: Noynoy is the best person the Philippines ever had. He is the sure winner to be President of this country.

Headline 2: Villar is Evil and will (must) lose the Elections. All the others are mere annoyances.

Headline 3: If Noynoy did not win, there is definitely cheating

Headline 4: Since Noynoy will win, the only thing the evil forces can do is to make the elections fail, hence "failure of elections".

Headline 5: If the COMELEC do not declare Noynoy, there should and would be another People Power.

Ok, ok, the above might be too much, or is it? Hey, you might just want to read their headlines and who knows, I might eventually be proven right.

April 22, 2010

Except for the main headline about Chiz' choice in the coming elections, the majority of the news in the Inquirer front page today is all about Agra and the flack he is getting on his resolution to dismiss the charges against two of the Ampatuans.



I am not sure how important Sen Escudero's endorsement is but that story grabbed the Inquirer's Front Page headline today (Escudero all out for ‘Noy-Bi’), along with a similar endorsement by a partylist group called Ang Ladlad. The endorsement came not as a surprise. The questions is what value is there in the said endorsement. Obviously, there is something going on when a newspaper gives importance to an endorsement by someone, which can only go positive for Sen. Noynoy Aquino and Mayor Jejomar Binay. The news is of course negative to Sen. Roxas and in a way to former President Estrada, creating an illusion that there is a wave of support going for the Noy-Bi tandem.

The news asking why the jail management allowed an Ampatuan press conference (Presscon in hi-risk jail? A phone call did it) surprisingly include of all people comments from Sen. Aquino and LP supporter Leah Navarro. As to why the paper asked the LP standard bearer to comment and not the other candidates, I leave it that to the reader's judgement, but I can easily see that this news piece favors Sen. Aquino. Needless to say, it is also very negative to the Arroyo administration.

In Cagayan de Oro City, Aquino reckoned that Puno had a hand in creating a “country club” atmosphere at the prison compound in Taguig City for Ampatuan.

Aquino said the free-wheeling setting allowed Ampatuan to make a mock press conference.

The LP presidential candidate said it was difficult to believe that the Department of Interior and Local Government did not have a hand in Ampatuan’s press conference especially since the agency had full control of the BJMP.

Aquino said other inmates like Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a former naval officer, and Danny Lim, a former general, did not get any preferential treatment. Trillanes and Lim are accused of plotting a coup.

“Danny Lim and Senator Trillanes were given a hard time getting media interviews. My father was given one opportunity during the 1979 interim Batasang Pambansa elections where he was a candidate. Of course, the interview was hostile,” he said.

He described Ampatuan’s endorsement of his candidacy as a “childish, amateurish attempt which the public will not swallow.”

Widows score Ampatuan

Widows of the massacre victims believe that Ampatuans’ declaration of support for Aquino was a ploy to generate negative publicity for the LP standard-bearer.

Noemi Parcon dismissed the Ampatuans’ attempt to associate themselves with Aquino as a nothing but a “tactic to destroy people’s impression” of the senator, who has been leading in surveys. Parcon is the widow of slain newspaper publisher Joel Parcon.

Juliet Ibardo, widow of UNTV cameraman Julito Ibardo, agreed with Parcon’s observation, describing Ampatuan’s allegiance to Aquino as an attempt to “discredit” the senator.

Asked what she thought of Ampatuan’s claim, widow Arlene Untal called the suspect a “show-off.” Asked if she was backing the candidacy of Aquino with her assertions, Parcon replied with an emphatic “Yes.”

“His heart is for the poor and the oppressed,” she said.

Myrna Reblando, widow of slain Manila Bulletin reporter Alejandro Reblando, said Ampatuan was peddling lies.

Myrna has endorsed Aquino in one of his campaign advertisements.

Culprits

Aquino’s New Media Bureau said the Ampatuan clan’s “endorsement” of Aquino could be the handiwork of only two possible “culprits”—Villar’s Nacionalista Party or the Arroyo administration.

“Is Andal that powerful? I don’t think you can do that unless you have some backing from government,” said Leah Navarro, content head of Aquino’s New Media Bureau and executive director of Black & White Movement.

Another news about the Agra flack (Bereaved mount angry rally vs DoJ, Arroyo) is basically a bash-fest against the Arroyo administration. Of course it is very easy to insert an Aquino favor here to have the news easily go positive on him.

The rally was organized by media groups led by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

The protesters wore black, and most of them showed which presidential candidate they believed could give them justice through their yellow baller IDs and yellow “Laban” pins.

Killed by devils

“What we hope for if Noynoy [Aquino] wins is that he might be able to give us justice, because there is none to be had from this administration,” said Catherine Nuñez.

Another news is on Bishop's Cruz take on the Agra resolution (Bishop Cruz: Agra is only a ‘clerk’ of ‘Chief’) is basically a continuation of the earlier bash-fest. This time though, there is no mention about any candidate so it is generally neutral, except that it is extremely negative to President Arroyo.

Another news on Agra is the supposed side of President Arroyo on the matter (Arroyo on Agra: I told him to confer with prosecutors). Since the news piece presents the side of the administration, we can say it is positive for them, although answering issues hurled at you is never positive. It is more of like damage control or to neutralize the situation. But since there are no candidates mentioned, the news report turned out to be candidate-neutral as far as we are concerned.

On the political news as to who is the greenest among the candidate (Perlas, Madrigal, Gordon judged ‘greenest’ of candidates), the report can be judged to be a purely balanced assessment of how candidates responded to the "green" questions asked them by some environmentalist groups (Greenpeace and Ecowaste). The news report came out positive though for Perlas, Madrigal and Gordon as heralded in the news' title and negative for Teodoro and Estrada for not responding to the questions.

The remaining news reports (11 lawmen plead not guilty to murder raps and Palace sends exit sign, forms ‘transition team’) are basically neutral to the candidates, but negative and positive, respectively, to the Arroyo administration.

So, to whom does the Inquirer front page goes today? I say it is generally favoring Aquino, slightly positive for Perlas, Madrigal, and Gordon, neutral to the rest of the candidates, and wildly negative for President Arroyo.

The score now is:
Aquino: 7
Estrada: 1
All the rest: 0

April 21, 2010

The Agra saga and who's the Ampatuan endorsing are the main news on the Inquirer Front Page today.



The main banner (Outrage over Agra rising) which continues to compile all the negative opinion against the Sec. of Justice resolution to absolve two Ampatuan clan members on their participation in the Ampatuan massacre now links President Arroyo with the issue. The news is accompanied by a photo of a protester holding a placard tagging Arroyo (and Agra) "coddler" of the Ampatuans. The news is purely a one-sided opinion piece which surprisingly highlights the opinions of very lucky politicians to have such coverage such as Erap Estrada (and Jinggoy) and Loren Legarda, among others. So while this report is negative to Agra and by extension to PGMA, it gives positive space to former President and convicted plunderer Erap Estrada.

Meanwhile, another story under the same banner (DoJ chief: Palace silent, it means approval), although the title is negative to President Arroyo, surprisingly balances the front page for Agra. The news feature Agra's side and the reaction of former DoJ Sec. Raul Gonzales siding with Agra. I still judge this news as somehow negative to the Arroyo administration albeit slightly.

The other news given prominence in today's front page is on the Ampatuan clan's choice for the national elections (For Villar on Thursday, Aquino on Tuesday). The title of the report itself renders incredibility to the development. The first few sentences obviously is meant to neutralize any possible negative effect of Ampatuan's endorsement to Sen. Noynoy Aquino:

Is sporting orange baller IDs (rubber bracelets) or wearing a yellow T-shirt and flashing the Laban sign an indication of one’s choice of a presidential candidate?

It usually is.

Of course, the last sentence quoted obviously means the writer thinks in this case that the news on Ampatuan's Aquino endorsement is not necessarily true or honest. I leave to the readers the probable reasons why the news report itself banners its writers' opinion.

The news report makes sure that the readers know that Ampatuan is endorsing Villar earlier, with supposed stated proof referring to an ABS-CBN video news coverage, before it relayed the story of the Aquino endorsement. As we read on, the news feature reactions from the LP, mainly that of Sen. Aquino saying that this must be a joke, reminding us that in 2007, he got just 13 votes from Maguindanao.

Aquino treated as a joke a report that the Ampatuan clan had declared its support for his candidacy.

“No, thank you” was Aquino’s reply to reporters seeking his reaction to Andal Jr.’s press conference.

Aquino said he had not talked to Andal Jr. “I am not running after their endorsement.”

The LP standard-bearer said that he was a victim of cheating in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2007 when he ran for a Senate seat. Andal Jr.’s brother, Zaldy, is the suspended ARMM governor and one of the accused in the massacre, who along with Maguindanao Vice Gov. Akmad Ampatuan, was cleared last week by acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra.

“Sen. (Francis) Escudero and I were laughing about it. He told me not to look at the (Maguindanao election returns) because I’d just feel bad. But I told him at least I got 13 votes and he (Escudero) only got 12,” Aquino said.

The report though did not verify what Aquino said. It also did not check how much Villar got in Maguindanao when he last got elected as senator, which should have completed the line of thought.

Obviously, Sen. Aquino is favored by this report giving his side and effectively neutralizing the possibility of a bad effect of an Ampatuan endorsement while the news is very negative to the Arroyo administration and somehow negative to Villar's camp.

While the recent news about defection to the LP by Joey Salceda highlights the LP's take on the "maverick", the recent defection to NP by some Lakas politicians are treated with ridicule from today's political news (Solon turns Teodoro green to Villar orange in a snap) rendering Villar's show of strength ineffectual.

He made it as easy as changing campaign baller IDs.

Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona took his oath before Sen. Manuel Villar on Monday afternoon only hours after he attended a meeting of Lakas-Kampi-CMD lawmakers presenting a show of force for Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr.

“He was there with us to pledge support for Teodoro,” the ruling party’s secretary general Raymundo Roquero said over the phone, expressing disbelief at Madrona’s turnaround. “It’s his problem to explain himself to his constituents.”

This news report shows the defections from Teodoro's Lakas to Villar's NP, from the point of view of Lakas. The news report did not carry any reactions coming from the NP except for the following:

Villar’s camp issued a press statement confirming Madrona’s presence at the oath-taking, as did reelectionist Mayor Nanette Tansingco of San Fernando town.

and

Villar declined to comment on the governors’ show of support for Teodoro, and only said he was grateful that a number of Cebu leaders, notably Representatives Eduardo Gullas (first district) and Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (6th district), had bolted the ruling party and endorsed his candidacy.

I do not see this news as positive for Villar nor for Teodoro. While some may say the news show Villar's strengthening force, it is basically neutralized by how "snap" easy those forces are. While Teodoro's side is given prominence in the news report, the premise is on his party's sinking boat. So I say this news report ranges from being very negative to slightly positive to both of them. In the end, I say it stays on the negative territory.

In another front page news, there is generally positive treatment of Mar Roxas' mother Judy Araneta-Roxas (Moms Judy A, Baby A know best for Mar, Citoy), which has no reference in anyway to Sen. Aquino except in reminding us that Sen. Roxas gave way to the former. I say this news is positive for Mar Roxas but not necessarily much for Aquino.

Another big news today is the SC ruling allowing President Arroyo to name the CJ (It’s final: High court rules Arroyo may appoint new CJ). What is striking in this news report (similar to when the first ruling on the same was reported) is more space given to the dissenting opinion of some of the judges. Another striking part of the news report is how Sen. Aquino is receiving lucky breaks of having the chance to air his opinion while his competitors are not as lucky.

Commenting on the high court’s decision, Liberal Party standard-bearer Benigno Aquino III said it seemed “like the [tribunal] did not even reconsider its [March 17] decision.”

“But the time will come when we will put all of these in the correct way because ultimately, sovereignty resides in the people,” Aquino said.

While the news is quite negative in character for the supreme court as a whole, it is quite positive for Sen. Noynoy Aquino.

The other front page news, Melo: We’re 100 percent on target and ‘Fastest election’ held in 1914 in Benguet town are basically positive for the COMELEC and generally neutral (even trivial), respectively.

So who's camp is today's Inquirer front page going for? I say it hands-down goes for Aquino while Estrada on a lesser value benefits as well.

So my score goes:
Aquino: 6, Estrada: 1, All the rest: 0

April 20, 2010

Today, the Inquirer front page is dedicated to Justice Sec. Agra. There is even a photograph of him over another photo of dead bodies scattered about in the Ampatuan Massacre. Of course, the photo conjures an image that perhaps Agra is as guilty of the massacre as the actual perpetrators.


The main news is on the supposed mutiny by prosecutors (Prosecutors mutiny in DoJ). I leave it to the judgement of the news readers whether the actions and words by prosecutors were mutinous. As to how the news played out politically, I have seen no reference to any candidates, except for a comment made by former Sen. Franklin Drillon who is now running for senator under the LP. There is also no reference made to President Arroyo. So I say this news report is neutral politically except a slight edge for the LP. However, the news is quite one-sided against Agra as it did not give his side or response to the very few actual issues raised.

The other news (Agra on his fate: It’s the President’s call), probably to balance the one-sided treatment of the main headline, is the supposed side of Agra on the issue. However, it is still negative to Agra as it focuses on his supposed previous work as election lawyer to the candidates of the administration in the past election. The insinuation made is that President Arroyo is linked to Agra and at least perhaps linked to AGra's decision. I think the news report is unfair in its insinuation and thereby negative to President Arroyo. There was no mention or reference however on other national candidates.

The third news about Agra's Ampatuan resolution (DoJ order irks kin of massacre victims) is, surprisingly not just about Agra, but about the connection of the situation to Manila Villar:

Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu of Buluan, Maguindanao, said he believed that Justice Secretary Alberto Agra’s decision to drop murder charges against two members of the Ampatuan clan was connected to a plot to cheat in the May 10 presidential election.

The interview continues thus:

Pressed to identify the presidential candidate, he only dropped hints.

He said that Liberal Party standard-bearer, Benigno Aquino III, had no wife and that administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro’s wife was not doing the rounds on her own.

Then he went on to point out how Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the principal suspect in the massacre, had said in a television interview before his transfer to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City that his presidential candidate was Nacionalista Party’s Manuel Villar.

The news also gave space to the LP standard bearer and running mate:

Aquino and his running mate, Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, said the dropping of murder charges against Zaldy and Akmad was part of a Malacañang plot to manipulate the elections in Mindanao.

“Let’s not forget that one of those dropped from the murder charge (Zaldy Ampatuan) is the governor of ARMM, who was suspended because of the case. If his suspension is lifted, then we are back to the issue of the conduct of elections in the ARMM,” Aquino said in a press conference.

Aquino said that he was deeply disappointed by Agra’s decision. “Since it has already been filed in court, he (Agra) should have just let the court decide on the merit of the testimony implicating the two,” said Aquino.

In an interview with reporters, Roxas said: “This is all related to politics, to the elections.”

“It’s A-1 information from my feelers. She told me that the wife visited the old man Ampatuan Sr.,” said Mangudadatu, who is running for governor in Maguindanao under the administration party.

and to Sen. Jamby Madrigal directly linking it to Sen. Villar.

For Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, the justice department resolution was the biggest travesty perpetrated by President Macapagal-Arroyo and her anointed candidate Manny Villar.

In a statement, Madrigal, a presidential candidate, also said “finally, the rabbit is out of the hat.”

“With principal suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr. brandishing the orange prison baller bracelet of Manny Villar to match his orange prison uniform, the Villaroyo conspiracy is exposed in its full glory,” she said.

There is also a mute and uncontroversial comment by Teodoro.

The response meanwhile from the Villar camp is covered in a separate news report (Villars angry over Davao meeting story). Cong. Cynthia Villar, who was said in the unverified report to have met with Andal Ampatuan Sr., denied that he ever met with the Ampatuan patriarch. Although the news reports the Villar denial, it went on to give space to another information from an unnamed source in the military who said that it was LP Senatorial candidate Remulla who visited Andal Sr.

But another military officer, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the matter, said NP senatorial candidate Gilbert Remulla visited Andal Sr. a month ago.

“He was here for less than an hour,” the military officer said.

The officer said several Maguindanao town mayors also visited Andal Sr. to discuss the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial candidates they would campaign for in their respective towns.

“They (mayors) consulted the old man,” the source said.

Villar, Roxas, Bongbong

“I saw their line-up—Villar for president, Mar Roxas for vice president and their senatorial candidates included Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon Revilla, Gilbert Remulla, Bongbong Marcos and Miriam Defensor-Santiago,” the source said.

Amazing how readers are being led in a circular chase seemingly designed to confuse everyone while leaving an unfounded conclusion that Villar indeed had a hand in the developments. It is very glaring on these two news reports how the Villar camp is mistreated while his competiton, especially LP's Sen. Aquino is given quite a space for their one-sided opinions. So I give these news as positive to Aquino, neutral for most others in the Presidential lineup while extremely negative for Villar.

Meanwhile, on other political news in the front page, the news on Teodoro (Teodoro wins new Lakas support but avoids Arroyo meeting) focuses on the negative things in his campaign such as his supposed avoidance of Arroyo and the alleged move to dump by his party members his Presidential candidate Edu Manzano. The news on Estrada (Estrada gets surprise greetings from Teodoro, Aquino) on the other hand shows the personal side of the former President, giving him lengthy positive coverage. The other news (about the SWS hunger and poverty survey and the Ash clouds emanating from Europe) in the front page are generally neutral politically.

So who do I give today's front page to? I think it goes positive for Erap, somewhat positive for Noynoy, totally negative for Villar, Somehow negative for Gibo, Somehow positive for Madrigal, while unmindful to all the rest. So I give it to Estrada this time and the score goes like this: Aquino 5, Erap 1, all the rest 0!

Meanwhile, If I would give a rating of negative treatment for the other candidates recalling from recent past issues, Villar must have been the most negatively reported candidate in the Inquirer front page.

April 19, 2010

Today, the main headline of the Inquirer focuses on the Ampatuan case. Here is the snapshot of the Inquirer's front page:


The main news (DoJ order to clear 2 Ampatuans assailed) is of course very negative to the Arroyo administration. It seems to me now that this government gets negative treatment from the Inquirer for almost everyday of its life. Among the presidential candidates that are affected by this negative news is Gibo Teodoro and Manny Villar, depending on who one believes is the Arroyo anointed. The news itself is tacky not to have mentioned directly who is being targeted:

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, Liberal Party campaign manager, condemned the Arroyo administration and said: “Is this a deliberate move meant to free a political kingpin in order to deliver the votes to Arroyo’s anointed come May 2010?”

Sadly, while it is expected that people, especially the opposition and journalists, will react negatively to the DOJ action and therefore not really news in its strictest sense, the news report did not tackle the issues for or against the same action. The legal questions and logic of the action were not tackled at all. If this is how journalists thought they should cover the Ampatuan case, then they themselves are rendering the death of their colleagues mutely in vain.

Another news given prominence today is the Saycon interview (Saycon tags DND chief in junta plan). Again, this goes very negative to the administration and is consistent with the drive to pound on various scenarios which range from No Elections to No Proclamation to Failure of Elections, which by the way are the same concerns coming out of the Liberal party. While the title of the news is somewhat agitating, the news itself looks like a hodgepodge of gossip akin to celebrity news. It is a mixture of various incendiary questions coming out from supposed information presented by unnamed sources. The information, even if it is true or not, can be interpreted in many ways but the news focuses on the interpretation by Saycon, which the news itself admits to be belonging to a group of LP supporters. I wonder how can and why the Inquirer treat this kind of news that influences the judgment of the people in this tabloid way? It seems to me therefore that this news is in line with Sen. Aquino's and the LP's communication plan and therefore goes positively for him.

Meanwhile, another news gave a purely positive view for Arsenic Laurel, running for a congressional seat in Batangas (Political reforms in a sportsman’s field of dreams). The news started as a feature on Laurel and then wandered off to the charter change discussion and then to Joey Salceda of Albay whose recent defection to the LP made the news slightly in favor of the said party, before returning back to Laurel. I think this news report is largely neutral (albeit slightly for Aquino) as far as the Presidential elections is concerned.

On the purely political news, the news on Gordon (Gordon seeks Comelec action on TV ads) meanwhile is surprisingly not very much about Gordon but more of a positive treatment of Sen. Madrigal who is quoted:

“And unlike Manny Villar’s infomercials, my TV ads do not exploit children. There are no show biz stars and no singing and dancing. They also show that I’m a candidate running a different campaign, one without hakot (busing). They’re principle-and issue-based,” Madrigal said Sunday.

I cannot say that the news benefits Gordon, but I can definitely say it benefits Madrigal who was able to announce and thereby generate interests and anticipation on the release of her advertisements, with a slightly negative swing on Villar.

The news on senatorial candidate Yasmin Lao (Fight for Muslim women’s rights gets personal) looks mainly like a promotion of her candidacy. Of course, the news would provide a positive picture as well for the LP and the NoyMar team for being reform-oriented:

“For quite some time, the ‘NoyMar’ campaign team had been headhunting for a Muslim candidate who would embody the reform-oriented politics of the team,” Pilipina national coordinator Elizabeth Yang said in an e-mail to other members.

Lao was one of those nominated, and eventually chosen, to represent Muslim Mindanao, grassroots leadership and women in the LP’s senatorial slate.

The only news that seems neutral in all its feature is the one on environment (Building green communities pushed). Unless the personalities involved and quoted in the news are actually leaned towards someone to be gleaned only later, it seems to me that this news has not benefited any of the Presidential candidates.

All in all, I grade this Inquirer front page as going for Aquino and the LP, with a slight go for Madrigal and with a negative swing for Villar and a slighter swing for Teodoro. But is the positive news on Madrigal (actually a press release) enough to swing the whole page for her? I don't think so. I think this issues still as a whole goes for the LP candidate.

So the score goes like this:
Aquino: 5
All the rest: 0

April 18, 2010

Today, I give the Inquirer's front page to Aquino. Here is today's front page:


The main news is about the Ampatuan case (2 Ampatuans to go free) which obviously do not help give the President a positive image. I personally think that the news coverage on the Ampatuan case is lackluster as many people are going to be surprised by this development. The mass media has not covered all the details of the case, the arguments and issues raised in the courts are not detailed in any report. We just now know that the 2 Ampatuans have strong alibis which we also just heard of now. To think that this case involves the mass media, I hoped this was the news that would be given the proper attention. However, it seems that the mass media, even the Inquirer, thinks that this case does not deserve deep scrutiny.

Meanwhile, in politics, the news reported include an interview with Legarda (Legarda: Why NP’s left, right, center fit together), a news about supposed LP unity (LP Senate bets bare secret of their unity), a title on Perlas's run but not really just a news about him but a rundown on the campaign trail (Why Nicky Perlas’ son convinced him to run) and on Enrile's support for Estrada (Enrile’s order: Vote for Estrada, or else...).

Although the Legarda interview may be construed as positive media for the NP camp and eventually Villar, the report itself gave hints of suspicion. The first paragraph itself is a give away:

If you can believe its vice presidential candidate, the Nacionalista Party is an oasis of calm compared to rival camps beset by infighting and clashes of egos among the big-name politicos running under their banners.

Another stanza shows the inkling of the writer. The report somehow ridicules Legarda:

To hear Legarda—who has run in three national elections since 1998 under different parties with different partners—tell it, running under the NP is pure heaven.

I say that the Legarda interview is not a positive report on the NP. In fact, the issue against the NP is the topic of the report - the Left and the Right's marriage of convenience.

So, although the report gave space to Legarda's praise of Villar, the suspicious topic and character of the news make it in my point of view neutral if not negative for Villar.

Contrast that to the news about the LP "unity", where one would immediately see the positive treatment:

How come no one is defecting from the Liberal Party? Despite limited funding, the LP remains intact.

Their secret: LP standard-bearer Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III knows how to take care of his teammates.

It’s Aquino’s little acts of thoughtfulness that they find most affecting, according to the LP senatorial candidates—Representatives Ruffy Biazon, Teofisto Guingona III and Rissa Hontiveros, and guest candidate, detained Army Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, represented by his wife, Aloy.

Even if all of his time is consumed by the campaign, Aquino makes time to give them pep talks, engage in light banter and even share chichiria (junk food) with them during breaks in the sorties, the LP senatorial candidates told Inquirer editors and reporters on Thursday.

The news about the LP unity is all about Sen. Aquino, specifically his goodness, and a push for the LP senate bets. The whole report itself even reminds the readers of Villaroyo issue by scattering the tag all over it.
If I compare the two news reports, it would be logical to think a writer from the LP campaign wrote both.

Nicky Perlas is given a front page treatment on the Reporter's notebook. However, the news about him is not necessarily on the first page. And the entire news is more on what is happening rather on who the personalities are. So I cannot say if it is positive for Nick Perlas at all.

Lastly the news quoting Enrile's endorsement of Estrada seems at first not to have shown any bias at all. It is, as with the Reporter's notebook report, merely reporting on the events and not of any ideology or opinion. Part of the news though gave space to a mistaken view of Estrada on a possible Ramos endorsement. While the report did not comment on the mistaken view, the news itself gave also the real reason why Estrada is included in Ramos' consideration. So the report is somehow timid on Estrada and the overall effect it seems to me is slightly favoring the former president, but not enough to tilt the whole front page in favor of him.

So in my books, I still give this Inquirer front page as to have favored the candidacy of Sen. Aquino. In the 4 days I have monitored the front page thus far, the score is: Aquino: 4, All the rest: 0.

April 17, 2010

The Inquirer front page today is obviously giving good media to Noynoy Aquino. In my count, it has now given favor to Noynoy three days in a row.

The score is Noynoy: 3, All the rest: 0!


Meanwhile, among the news in the headlines, the main banner (JBC slams SC over CJ case) is obviously going against the PGMA administration and the supreme court.

The news on Time Magazine's (Time Article) cover feature of course benefits Noynoy Aquino (Time story on Noynoy Aquino cites Ninoy, Cory legacy). The news is treated well and almost become a reprint of the Time magazine feature itself.

Of course, my position is that the coverage of the President could have headlined at this time on her agenda and arrival from a foreign trip. Instead said coverage is nowhere to be found on the first page (although there is news on it on Inquirer.net.

Meanwhile, the smaller news report on Teodoro (Teodoro rejects ‘LP offer’ to quit, join Aquino Cabinet) cannot be deemed as beneficial to Teodoro himself. The news is mainly an extension of the report on defections to LP reported in a good light by the Inquirer. While the LP's Mar Roxas and Gibo camp denied making or receiving an offer, the Inquirer think that the news deserves front page treatment. So I think that the report is going negative against Gibo.

There is another story on the front page entitled May 10 poll: Not perfect but RP history’s ‘best’ . This news surely gives a positive view on the COMELEC which received negative press in the past days.

But it is so obvious that today's front page gives hands down positive news to Sen. Noynoy Aquino.

April 16, 2010

It is really quite interesting to look at how the Inquirer is setting the news agenda these days. Here is a look at their today's front page. Who is favored in their news today?

As everyone can see, this front page is basically a negative press for President Arroyo. Meanwhile, Senators Aquino and Roxas has some exposure here, reminding everyone of the supposedly corrupt Jocjoc Bolante..

As for the presidentiables, I say this one again goes for Sen. Aquino. So far in my books, the score is: Aquino: 2, All others: 0!



Meanwhile, as everyone would know, the President is coming back from Madrid today. If the Inquirer is to be relied upon, the news that we have regarding the Madrid trip is all about the unsupported assertion that the President's delegation requires a "lean" 50 room in the Madrid Ritz Hotel worth more than Euro200 nightly. We also know about her award from the Spanish government for promoting the Spanish language. Of course, in passing, there is mention about a meeting between Arroyo and the Spanish President and another meeting with the Spanish King. Surprisingly, the agenda of the meeting was totally left out. What should have been the headline today is totally not on the Inquirer's radar.

Update April 17, 2010: This article is now being transferred and improved to a new blog called The Inquirer Front Page.