Filipino Web Magazine

Tuesday, 21 July 2020

Coping Amidst the Pandemic

Volume 2, Issue No. 2

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . .

Our latest as of Tuesday, July 21, 2020

~ A semblance of normalcy appears on the horizon amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Toronto is on stage 2 reopening, but with a reminder to practice physical distancing, wear masks, frequent hand washing, among the health and safety protocols to be observed. When COVID invaded, we resorted to practical measures to cope with the stress, such as backyard gardening to raise vegetables and fruits to complement what's available in the supermarket. Within weeks, we have an abundance of items needed for a healthy meal.

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RELIEVING STRESS THROUGH GARDENING

Feasting on Home-Grown Produce

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul. ” - Alfred Austin

TORONTO - These days, we're feasting on organics - our own local produce - from the backyard garden we fashioned from patches of grasses, weeds, shrubs, and walkways that had been once beautifully landscaped fitting a quiet and relaxing lawn.

The unwelcome arrival of the novel coronavirus in January has dramatically changed our way of life. The invisible invader has held us hostage since then. Only a vaccine, yet to be found, could set us free.

In the meantime, we could also live with it by carefully observing and following health and safety protocols put in place, such as wearing face masks, practicing physical distancing, frequent hand washing, avoiding large crowds, etc.

The disease that the virus causes, COVID-19, continues to claim lives and infect people on a global scale. In this capital of Ontario province, Canada's largest city, the situation stays fluid. (Full report at: https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-latest-city-of-toronto-news/covid-19-status-of-cases-in-toronto/).

Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's medical officer of health, reports that there are now 15,144 cases in the city, an increase of 107 cases since July 10, 2020. The death toll is at 1,137 as of this Tuesday, July 21, 2020. Overall, Health Canada reports that Canada has 111,299 cases, 97,566 recovered, and 8,859 deaths.

The COVID invasion remains a cautionary tale. It is a reminder of the fragility of life, of man's vulnerability.

So, the usual gatherings of family, friends, and neighbours have been discouraged as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of the disease. Our movements have been restricted to the most basic, i.e. to get food supplies from grocers without resorting to panic-buying.

There have been some relaxations put in place. In fact, Toronto is on stage 2 reopening, which means residents can now visit parks and community centres and can now enjoy outdoor dining.

When COVID was at its peak and isolation a healthy recourse, we turned our attention to backyard gardening. It's a comforting break from working from home or from just sitting and watching the news or from walking back and forth within the limited confines of the house.

We cultivated the lawn, replaced grass with a raised garden, and planted seeds of the different varieties of seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs. (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVQUTSkFSR4).

Small miracles do happen. In a matter of weeks, the yard of grass, weeds, and shrubs has transformed itself into a rich source of food. There's an abundance of eggplant, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, bell pepper, basil, mint, chili, calamansi, among others. The old apple and plum trees are bearing fruits now.

On the first day of harvest, we went Italian for lunch and dinner. The next day, the menu was Mexican, basically tacos and burritos. The following day, it's Filipino food, actually pork sinigang (soured by calamansi) that had more eggplant, broccoli, and taro. The food cycle will continue until we've exhausted the produce.

All the food preparations relied on what we could harvest from the garden. Prior to this newfound pastime, vegetables used in Filipino cuisine are regularly bought from supermarkets. We cared little about how much we paid; it's the convenience of having them at a moment's need.

The pandemic changed that, personally for us. Raising vegetables and fruits in the backyard undoubtedly saves money, however little, and offers a delightful and teachable moment for everyone, especially for kids. It's time spent away from electronic gadgets.

Wednesday, 15 July 2020

Community Journalists as Watchdogs

Volume 2, Issue No. 1

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Wednesday, July 15, 2020

~ The period of more than four decades has produced a wealth of experience in journalism. Nearly half of them were gained in North America. From old-fashioned cut and paste to the modern gizmos that replaced it, truthful, honest journalism is very much the same as it was many years ago. Its progression has produced subsets, specialties necessitated by advances in technology and changing world.

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COUNTING CONTENT, NOT YEARS

Milestone for Real Journalism

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“The swiftest hours, as they flew.” - Shakespeare

TORONTO - How time flies. From one hot summer day last year to another summer drastically changed by the scourge of the coronavirus.

Nonetheless, without fanfare, I celebrate my newest blog, which is essentially my online archive - the Filipino Web Magazine (https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/) - to complement my flagship social media outlet, The Filipino Web Channel, on YouTube.

I can't seem to divorce myself from the media even as I have accumulated more than four decades of working in various capacities - as a foreign correspondent, editor, publisher, reporter, photographer, videographer, proofreader, and paste-up artist. (Related article: https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2001/jun/14/cover-sinister-hero/?page=1&).

Those years involved arduous work that also had its rewards, that of being brought to foreign lands in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Honestly, as penniless as I am, my journalism journeys were above and beyond my expectations. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik0AXXyPXaE).

Having this blog and my other online vlogs under Romar Media Canada is a milestone of sorts for me. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42YXRLqaQYA). They fill in the vacuum and provide the continuity necessary to keep one's sanity in times when greed overtakes principle, when compromises are set aside in favor of the truth a journalist is sworn to uphold.

A year older, and fifty-four articles later, I commemorate the birth of my blog. This month, I also mark the 27th year of my newspaper column, Prerogative, which came into being in San Diego, California when nobody in the Filipino community dared spoke and exposed the truth regardless of how painful it was.

So as not to cause confusion on where it's published outside California, I retitled the column to Password, which ran for years in Chicago and Arizona. The contents were basically the same.

I haven't missed a beat since Prerogative began in 1993 right after I ended my work with a major foreign news agency. My journalism from print to online to print and again online continued in Toronto in 2010. Ten years later (it's now 2020), I'm doing both print and online.

The print part has been compromised, however, by the coronavirus pandemic. It seems newspapers have become outdated. Reader preference has shifted to social media where interaction is immediate and expedient than in newspapers whose frequency - monthly, fortnightly, weekly - work against being an effective medium of communication.

According to a survey that I read somewhere, people are now migrating to social media (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc.) to get news through their computers and smartphones than reading newspapers. That sounds like a death knell to local news publishing.

Community journalism is more impactful and personal than, say the more prestigious and financially-satisfying job as a foreign correspondent. Admittedly, writing locally pays peanuts. The edifying part, for me at least, is in being able to disseminate accurate information and help people understand issues relevant to them. That's an invaluable community outreach.

The launch of Prerogative in Toronto has caused, unsurprisingly, a backlash against my journalism. I was a marked man the moment a so-called writer called me "journalist daw" (journalist allegedly), which was echoed by his left-leaning minions. That was fine with me. I knew where I stood.

And I also knew I was courting adversaries who would discredit me. I wasn't cowed nor frightened nor rattled. Instead, I dug deep into their background and found them to be a bunch of fakes, pretenders basically, and their claim to being writers spurious. In fact, the promoter of the remark turned out to be a computer thief!

It was their ignorance that betrayed them. I knew that in the Filipino community, nobody has ever heard of the foreign news agency that I worked with some time. I knew many members of the community were so used to meaningless entertainment news and endless variety shows promoted by docile media to distract from the daily grind.

Well, I said to myself, the problem is not my reporting; rather, it is the readers' lack of understanding. The fault lies with their unfamiliarity with real journalism which, in Toronto, is aggravated by the presence of a number of newspapers publishing the same inane content.

Real journalism, and in my case, investigative journalism, is journalism on tenterhooks, an edgy venture not for the spineless and weak of heart. Its practice invites legal and financial troubles as proven by the number of lawsuits filed in court against me.

But that's exactly the point of journalism. Dissent, name-calling, threats, lawsuits only mean one's reportage is having an impact. That's gratifying enough even when the peanuts come in trickles. (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).

Friday, 10 July 2020

The End Has Come for ABS-CBN

Volume 1, Issue No. 53

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Friday, July 10, 2020

~ This is no requiem for the billionaire broadcast giant that had lapsed, supposedly, into silence twice already; one in May and the latest, yesterday (July 10, Manila time). This last gasp may not be final, for the owners of ABS-CBN could still revive it in the not-so-distant future when the wind blows are more favorable. When lawmakers drove the last nail into its coffin, people both grieve and rejoice, weep and cheer. There's no love lost.

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ABS-CBN - THE PHILIPPINES' LARGEST NETWORK

Sad Day for a Spurned Giant

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“It all goes away. Eventually, everything goes away.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert

TORONTO - The end did not come unexpectedly. It was ordained on the very day congressmen started marathon scrutiny of ABS-CBN, the erstwhile broadcast giant that had lorded it over the airwaves of every nook and cranny of the Philippines and Filipino communities in foreign lands.

Practically every day during the nearly two weeks of hearings at the legislative franchises committee, the public gaze open-mouthed at the spectacle of timid-looking network officials being grilled by lawmakers who once were either demonized, wronged, harassed, persecuted. It's déjà vu for the most part.

And when the decisive moment came on Friday, July 10, 2020, in Manila, seventy (70) congressmen, including those previously bruised and tattered in its radio and television broadcasts, voted to trash ABS-CBN's request for a fresh 25-year franchise.

The committee of 85 members needed only forty-four (44) votes to deny the application, but 70 came forward - that's more than 82 percent. The voting pattern was 70 for denial, 11 against, 2 inhibit, and 1 abstain. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE5MMfF2gxA).

The 70 decided to “deny the application of ABS-CBN Corporation for a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain radio and broadcasting stations in the Philippines.”

To me, it's an indication of how representatives, voicing out the sentiments of their constituents, loathed ABS-CBN and its brand of biased/slanted/distorted reporting, on the one hand, and the many asinine programs, on the other, it dished out during its heyday.

It's interesting to note that of the 11 who voted against, two once worked with ABS-CBN, namely former movie star Vilma Santos, and former reporter Sol Aragones, which means their loyalty and personal interests came first before the people's. Another, Carlos Zarate, is identified with Bayan Muna party-list, which authorities consider a communist front.

There seemed to be so much disgust for the network when it held sway to the point that the 70 men and women who thumbed it down instantly became heroes in the eyes of many people, and, of course, villains among the bleeding hearts of opposing political ideologues and devoted supporters.

The impassioned pleas of the latter did not dent the resolve of most members of the committee to reject the franchise, especially when evidence showed ABS-CBN had committed violations of the law. Personal testimonies of both lawmakers and former employees only buttressed the findings.

At the height of its dominance, ABS-CBN could make or unmake any politician, officials in and out of government, friends, enemies, movie stars. It decided who rose and fell. It picked who the light shone on and dimmed. It was kingmaker by the sheer might of its radio-television empire.

After the committee junked the franchise application, Mark Lopez, ABS-CBN chairman, issued a statement, saying the mission to reopen the network continues. But it is his confession that struck me.

"Mahal na mahal namin ang Filipino. Mahal na mahal namin ang kapamilya" (We love the Filipino very much. We love the Kapamilya very much), he said. Oh yeah?

I was tearing up, furious and indignant at the injustice while watching the personal accounts of former employees who have not been paid their dues, salaries, and benefits for at least 10 years. And there were those that ABS-CBN had sued in court for attempting to better their life and working conditions.

Having won a judgment in their favor, the network would run to the Court of Appeals, and then to the Supreme Court to evade payment and prolong their agony. Given these circumstances, Lopez' words are hollow.

If ABS-CBN truly cared, why did it allow its employees to suffer? "Mahal na mahal namin ang Filipino" is nothing but empty rhetoric. What kind of love is that? (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/07/day-of-reckoning-for-abs-cbn-network.html).

Meanwhile, Carlo Katigbak, ABS-CBN president, also issued his statement. He said:

"Labis po kaming nasasaktan sa desisyon ng committee on legislative franchises na tangihan ang franchise ng ABS-CBN," he declared not with a tinge of sorrow.

"Naniniwala kaming nakapagbigay kami ng serbisyong makabuluhan at mahalaga sa mga Filipino. x x x Kasama ng aming empleyado, karamay ninyo kami sa inyong kalungkutan . . . " (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZbdunLl4KM)

Wow, I almost threw up! Listening to these top executives has now convinced me that the 70 lawmakers who voted against ABC-CBN had all the valid reasons to do what they did. I would have cast my vote with them if I had a chance, no second thoughts! (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).

Wednesday, 8 July 2020

Day of Reckoning for ABS-CBN Network

Volume 1, Issue No. 52

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Wednesday, July 8, 2020

~ From the tone of some of the 304-member House of Representatives, the broadcast giant ABS-CBN did not deserve a new lease on life for all its sins of omission and commission through the years it had been operating as the "Philippines' largest network". The day of reckoning has apparently come. According to The Manila Times, the network "faces an uphill battle to secure a new franchise". It also said that an initial tally indicated that 57 were likely to deny the franchise, 25 likely to vote for it, and 10 were unsure.

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END OF "IN THE SERVICE OF THE FILIPINO"

Doomsday for ABS-CBN?

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"One lie will not cure another". - Congressman Jesus "Boying" Remulla

TORONTO - I've been searching the internet for a more nuanced translation in English of a Filipino proverb I heard while watching the congressional hearing on the application of ABS-CBN for a new 25-year franchise to operate what had been "the Philippines' largest network".

As of May 5, 2020, the broadcast giant is legally dead, both its proud and inglorious past a mere flicker in our collective memory. But the owners and managers wouldn't let us bury the many wrongs and transgressions concealed in its slogan "in the service of the Filipino" while it had reigned supreme in the airwaves.

Some remorse, both honest and feigned, suddenly came up in the last lap of a marathon hearing in congressional committees to convince lawmakers that the Lopez family-owned radio-television outfit deserves a second chance.

That's after individuals now elected to the House of Representatives found that when all is said and done, ABS-CBN could be contrite even for a moment, and reluctantly admit to mistakes it had done on the same individuals occupying positions of power to legislate the network in or out of existence.

"Bago nagsalakot, basa na ang tuktok," said Congressman Rodante Marcoleta, one of the outstanding interpellators in the House who has managed to draw out admissions of wrongdoing, favoritism, and bias from network officials led by Martin Lopez, Carlo Katigbak, and Ging Reyes, among others.

"Salakot" is a wide-brimmed headgear of palm leaves; "basa" is wet; and "tuktok" is peak of the head. Taken together, it means the head is already wet (from rain) even before the person wears the hat. Or, it's useless to cover one's head when it's already immersed in rainwater.

The closest English translation that misses the nuance is missing an opportunity to address the wrongs and begs for another chance to make up and compensate for the loss.

That's exactly what Mr. Marcoleta told Ms. Reyes, a news executive of the network: "Bago nagsalakot, basa na ang tuktok," He was rejecting her promise to atone for the sins of omission and commission ABS-CBN had perpetrated against people in and out of government.

For example, Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Allan Peter Cayetano repeatedly complained against the network's practice of favoring individuals friendly to them during the runup to the 2016 elections, which Duterte won by a landslide.

But on February 24, 2020, at a Senate hearing, Mr. Katigbak publicly apologized to President Duterte for not airing his ad which he had paid for six million pesos. Prior to the apology, Mr. Duterte had consistently grumbled against ABS-CBN.

In his interpellation, Congressman Elpidio Barzaga Jr. asked Mr. Katigbak why it took the network four years (from 2016 to 2020) to finally ask an apology. To which Mr. Katigbak replied: "Inamin po namin na-delayed yung pag-issue ng cheque para sa refund po".

"What we're discussing is the public apology, not the issuance of the refund cheque," the lawmaker clarified. Again, he asked why was such a long time took place before it issued its regrets.

Mr. Katigbak answered: "You're correct, Mr. Chair. We should have endeavoured to ask for an apology much earlier". After another question, Mr. Katigbak explained that the expression of apology was not for the non-airing of President Duterte's ad but for the delay in issuing a refund.

Mr. Katigbak further explained that ABS-CBN already admitted its mistake upon issuance of the cheque refund. "The non-airing of ad was the result of our policy of first come, first served," he said. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlmKXEHx2UA)

There are others, namely, Congressmen Jesus "Boying" Remulla, Abraham Tolentino, Mike Defensor, Janette Garin, Elpidio Barzaga Jr. Upon questioning, Mr. Katigbak admitted that three incumbent senators whose political advertisements were not aired in 2016 for some reasons were Miguel Zubiri, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Francis Tolentino.

Rep. Janette Garin complained about a supposed interview with her by ABS-CBN. "The interview was spliced," she said, and asked ABS-CBN to stop broadcasting news about her because it's not true.

"But if ABS-CBN can prove the interview took place and is true, I will immediately resign from Congress," she challenged network officials. "With ABS-CBN, our voices fell on deaf ears. . . . even at this time with health issues, you (ABS-CBN), keep on interviewing non-experts".

Ms. Reyes responded: "They (meaning ABS-CBN) do understand and acknowledge your concern about the use of non-experts". (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zII-a0bpyGE (at 1:40 mark).

Congressman Tolentino also voiced out his beef. He said as early as 2013 and thereafter, he and his brother, Senator Francis Tolentino, were bashed every day for weeks on end. The episode had been replayed many times in its foreign outlets. "We can't do anything; It's difficult to fight a big media entity," he said. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y21bOJ36X0).

The complaints triggered this response. "I assure you that we will act on these complaints even if they were, or they happened some years ago," Ms. Reyes vowed, trying to look docile. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34VgVTzfxPA).

Carlo Katigbak, president and CEO of ABS-CBN, made a similar pledge: "As of now (that's July 6, 2020), I would like to make a public commitment that any public official will be given air time on ABS-CBN to express their side on any issue that is being raised against them". (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZbdunLl4KM).

With a gentle voice in mixed English and Tagalog, he managed to look repentant: "That is the commitment po by the owners, by the management. And we are instructing our organization to take note of this instruction. Uulitin ko lang po - it's a public commitment that any public official will be given a chance to air their side. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y21bOJ36X0).

A popular Manila newspaper, The Tribune, writes in an editorial: "The final nail shall definitely be its alleged political biases since the main offended party is the President himself. As we have written before in this paper, ABS-CBN’s past has definitely caught up with it". (More info: https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2020/07/06/final-nail-on-abs-cbn/).

Would ABS-CBN make it to another 25 years? An exclusive story by The Manila Times claimed ABS-CBN faces an uphill battle to get a franchise. (Full story at: http://digitaledition.manilatimes.net/manila-times). (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).

Monday, 6 July 2020

Demise of Journalism or Celebrity?

Volume 1, Issue No. 51

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

Our latest as of Monday, July 6, 2020

~ Behind her repeated statements lie an implicit self-declaration of stature to the world, fortified by endorsements from unknowing international celebrities. Rappler's Maria Ressa soups up an ancient form of Chinese torture to fit the narrative of her being persecuted by a supposedly tyrannical Philippine government. Is this a case of a delusion of grandeur or a delusion of insignificance?

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MARIA RESSA 'FRAUDULENT EXEMPLAR OF JOURNALISM'

Celebrity as a Symbol of Democracy?

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Many have made a trade of delusions and false miracles, deceiving the stupid multitudes". - Leonardo da Vinci

TORONTO - Maria Ressa, Rappler's CEO convicted by a Manila judge of cyber libel on June 15, 2020, has impliedly cloaked herself as some kind of a symbol of free speech in the Philippines trying to weather attacks by a supposedly authoritarian government.

The orchestrated puffery has attracted media friends from abroad, notably in the United States and the United Kingdom, the two countries from which she draws international legal support in a bid to overturn her and a former colleague's conviction.

When she says, and I quote, "What we're seeing is death by a thousand cuts to our democracy," Ressa basically arrogates the symbolism of democracy in her person. Is she predicting her physical demise or the demise of her celebrity?

Either way, democracy in the Philippines remains robust, exercised to the fullest by all, even by those who declare themselves outside the ambit of law, the communist rebels, the secessionists, and the plain ignorant who see the enforcement of laws as anathema to their fantasy.

"Death by a thousand cuts" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingchi) is actually a figure of speech derived from a form of Chinese torture where the condemned are subjected to small wounds that may not be fatal but build-up to such a degree as to cause death.

Ressa modified the phrase to fit her narrative, adding "what we're seeing is. . . " before the clause and inserting "to our democracy" after it, thus customizing the whole figure of speech into "what we're seeing is death by a thousand cuts to our democracy," It's hyperbole basically.

If her recent conviction is one of those "cuts" to democracy as she insinuates, then we may soon see her - the celebrity businesswoman, not the journalist - and the online news organization she represents, being chopped into fragments because of her own undoing.

It's interesting to note that Ressa studied political theater at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, according to an entry in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Ressa). It also claimed, based on an article in the Washington Post, that she "is perhaps the Philippines' best-known journalist".

The bold face that she manages to put up and attracts a lot of domestic and foreign bleeding hearts would crumble not because she could not exercise her press freedom and fight for it, but because she's too cavalier to even admit that her way of life, including articulating lies, is one of the fruits of that freedom.

A list of the cases compiled by Rappler against Ressa and the news site showed that, except for the cyber libel that resulted in her conviction, the lawsuits were for tax violations and questions of foreign ownership of Rappler. (Full info at: https://www.rappler.com/nation/223968-list-cases-filed-against-maria-ressa-rappler-reporters).

And the irony is that the finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt by Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa is that the offending article about a private person was written by a former reporter, Reynaldo Santos Jr., and not by Ressa. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiqE3MRkAZ4).

“The right to free speech and freedom of the press cannot and should not be used as a shield against accountability,” the judge wrote, dismissing the argument that Ressa was just an executive editor, not editor-in-chief, of Rappler. This was a "clever ruse to avoid liability," the judge added.

To me, this is a clear indication that it's not Ressa's journalism, if it could be categorized as journalism at all, but her corporate persona boosted by her questionable status as an emerging international celebrity, which she acquires by association, and not by dint of hard work as a journalist.

Of course, the fact that she had previously worked with CNN and ABS-CBN is not to be discounted. But for the respected Filipino journalist Yen Makabenta, Ressa is a "fraudulent exemplar of journalism and press freedom".

He writes in The Manila Times: "I took interest in Ms. Ressa's work as a journalist, so I have taken the time to look for samples of her writing online, in order to read for myself her views and musings on our profession and public affairs.

"To my surprise," he continues, "there is literally nothing to read of what has been written by 'Maria Ressa.' Rappler itself does not have anything that bears Ms. Ressa's imprint". (Full story at: https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/06/18/opinion/columnists/topanalysis/fraudulent-exemplar-of-journalism-and-press-freedom/732552/).

Ressa may be successful in deluding people, fine, but those who follow her may not be quite familiar with the facts. Example of this are the fanatics of ABS-CBN, the broadcast network that's already legally expired but still refuses to die, struggling even to survive self-inflicted "death by a thousand cuts".

News reports from Manila said the House of Representatives, sitting in plenary, would vote on ABS-CBN's petition for a franchise this week. Some lawmakers believe it would be hard for the network to muster a vote of approval following revelations of brazen violations of existing laws and the Constitution. (Latest videos at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSrSFSNbfl4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhtUWHKm6S8 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReK5EOlwj6A

Ressa, Rappler, and ABS-CBN are in the same choir, singing the same song in the same tune arranged by a Yellow cabal, and supported by communist outlaws, against President Rodrigo Duterte. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RexihfFtXo).

That their music is getting louder by the day only means they're prepping up for the momentous day of political reckoning although the well-entrenched Mr. Duterte has a full two years left of his presidency, (More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Duterte). (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).