By Paulo Loreto Lim

A human rights report recently released by the United States Department of State, while discussing the current condition of freedoms in the Philippines under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, discussed observations of the poor quality of domestic journalistic standards.
“Media commentators criticized most media outlets for lacking rigorous journalistic standards and for reflecting the particular political or economic orientations of owners, publishers, or patrons, some of whom were close associates of present or past high-level officials,” the Philippines 2016 Human Rights Report noted.
In terms of freedom of the press, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella denied claims news outlets critical of the administration were barred access.
“No press has been denied access to Palace briefings because of his or her critical stance against the current administration, except for a brief period when the president felt certain media practitioners were inordinately transgressive,” he explained.
The report also mentioned suspicions of bribery in order to provide one-sided coverage./WDJ