The tone may have changed, but the press freedom landscape remains virtually unaltered: In the Philippines, journalists remain under attack for reporting the truth; the people’s right to know remains vastly curtailed; and the practice of journalism remains a dangerous act.
Pro-Duterte bloggers have gone to overdrive this week portraying Vice President Sara Duterte as the fighter who “slayed” House members during the August 28 budget hearing.
Marcos Jr. paints an economic landscape of potentials in the SONA; jobs are now slowly being created and prices are being controlled. But the issues such as low wages, poverty alleviation, developing industry and agriculture remain blank.
The former president Rodrigo Duterte, and his camp have long relied on this playbook of playing up rumors, scandals, and hype to build their political capital, as noted by long-time observers of Davao City politics.
Try searching the West Philippine Sea on Google Maps and it will only present an inaccurate and very limited area of the WPS close to mainland Luzon. In actuality, the WPS massively stretches up to the Kalayaan Group of Islands and Scarborough Shoal.