Tag Archives: Rappler.com

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A hooray for Harry, a test for Duterte

A week or so since it was announced that Rep. Harry Roque is going to be the new Presidential Spokesperson and I can’t help but cheer him on.

It was of course a rocky start. There was the contradiction that is his statements (and mere existence) as human rights advocate and his willingness to speak for a President Duterte who has mocked, dismissed, and discredited human rights. There’s that hollowblock statement in an interview for Communications Asec Mocha Uson’s FB page (which is not a blog!):

“Binibigyan ko na po ng notice ‘yung mga walang hiya diyan na naninira lamang. Kung dati-rati hindi kayo nababato bagamat kayo’y nambabato, ngayon po maghanda na kayo dahil kung kayo’y nambato, hindi lang po bato itatapon ko sa inyo, hollow blocks.”

But hooray for Harry, that so many days after he was on CNN Philippines’ The Source, clarifying that the above statement was audience- and context-specific.

(more…)

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Media, gov’t comms, #LawinPH

One of the questions that dominated the discourse pre-Typhoon Lawin was: what the heck is government doing?

The truth was, we weren’t hearing much about what was being done, who was doing what, and whether government was prepared at all. It didn’t help that too many members of the President’s Cabinet –including the heads of communications – were with him in China, and so there was absolutely no sense at all that there was anyone in control of delivering information about the typhoon, one that was said to be akin to Typhoon Yolanda of 2013.

Here’s the thing: when you come from an Aquino government that had three communications offices, having no functioning communications office for President Duterte is nothing but a liability.

For the public and the government itself.  (more…)

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Pinoy social and online media 2013 (Part 2)

2nd of three installments.

Pol Medina leaves his mainstream pugad. And finds another mainstream pugad really, that thought it wonderful that you could choose-your-own-punchline on comic strips. But that’s getting ahead of the story. First was a Pugad Baboy strip that was submitted by Medina in April of this year, which was rejected by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. It would then be published in June to public social media outcry. (more…)