Despite a vast international fear mongering initiative mounted by Rappler CEO Maria Ressa to paint the Philippines as a blood-soaked “war zone”, very few are convinced that the Philippines is a bloody mess. Indeed, what actually came out of all that are revelations that Ressa lied about her claim that she knew a thing or two about war reporting — revelations she has so far not responded to properly.
What became more evident, instead, are facts that the Philippines is anything but a war zone. Two big events over the last month have been pulled off successfully, the 30th Southeast Asian Games and the successful Philippine leg of U2’s The Joshua Tree concert both held in Manila. What had been fed to foreign media, on the other hand, comes mainly from the slanted “investigative journalism” pieces of shady media characters like Ressa who, backed by equally-shady foreign funding, have made names for themselves — and racked up frequent flyer points — on campaign trails of slander against the Philippine government and its hardworking police force.
The very chi chi Washington Post in a recent report, for example, is seeing the collective brains of its storytellers bent beyond recognition by the persistent popularity of incumbent Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. As if screaming What the Hey??, the Post’s headline reads, “Thousands dead. Police accused of criminal acts. Yet Duterte’s drug war is wildly popular”. You could almost hear the synapses in the brain of author Regine Cabato tying themselves in knots as she writes…
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Yet President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody campaign is overwhelmingly popular here.
The reasons are manifold, but they hinge on Filipinos’ apparent willingness to overlook the death toll as long as Duterte’s government satisfies their individual economic and political interests, analysts say. The politician promised to eradicate criminals — “kill them all,” he said — and Filipinos appear to view Duterte as keeping his word.
And of this alleged “death toll”? Facts depend on who or what is “reporting” them, but one thing’s for sure, the media isn’t at the top of the list of credible sources for the right numbers. Because of a propensity to sensationalise the “news” coupled with common knowledge around who really signs the pay cheques of “journalists” employed by big corporate media outlets like ABS-CBN, the Inquirer, and, of course, Rappler (and the latter CEO’s now renowned dishonesty), Filipinos are regarding the shrill screams of bloody murder by “media practitioners” with grains of salt.
Circuses kicked up by ‘reporters’ feasting on violence has created a cottage industry that keeps media oligarchs laughing all the way to the bank.
Some time back, Manila Times columnist and former ambassador Bobi Tiglao wrote in detail about the crooked “reporting” of Rappler on the supposed “death toll” of Duterte’s War on Drugs and how it had been summarily picked up without much of a fact check by Ressa’s foreign media cronies.
I had emailed Rappler managing editor Glenda Gloria and the researcher who wrote the piece, Michael Bueza, two weeks before I wrote my exposes on their epic lie, requesting if they could clarify to me how they got the 7,080 figure. They didn’t respond at all, not even a “no-comment” or mind-your-own-business reply.
It is so unfortunate and unfair for our country that Rappler’s 7,080 number has been swallowed uncritically by the European Union Parliament, the Human Rights Watch, CNN, Time, USA Today, and by most foreign media, exaggerating by a third the number of those killed in Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs.
As bizarre as it sounds, the Philippines’ community of Opposition partisans are deferring to foreign agents to resolve what are essentially domestic internal issues. However, backdropped by the Philippines’ fully functional criminal justice systems, its free press, and its working electoral process, the argument that Duterte runs a ‘tyrannical’ or ‘authoritarian’ regime is weak and has not gained much traction amongst the broader base of Filipino voters. Thanks to their propensity not only to ignore but to outright block insightful challenge to their partisan narrative, a huge swathe of the Opposition bloc had imprisoned their thinking in little inbred cliques of like-minded amigas engaged in orgies of mutual high-fiving. The failure to properly read the public sentiment had manifested itself in this year’s national elections in which the entire eight-person Opposition coalition had suffered a catastrophic loss.
Leading the lemming-like march to the abyss are key Opposition “thought leaders” like Maria Ressa. It’s Strike Three. Ressa had led her flock down three ideological rabbit holes — (1) the idea that Duterte is a tyrant, (2) the notion that “press freedom” is under attack, and (3) the idea that the Philippines is a “war zone” littered with corpses. The score as such:
Maria Ressa is out.
The sooner the Philippine Opposition realise this, cut their losses, and purge themselves of idiotic thought leadership, the sooner they may find hope of winning an election sometime in the future. And that is what comes next.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Maria Reesa is the “Poster Girl” of Fake News. The woman established herself in the field of Journalism, by being the mouthpiece of the Aquino Cojuangco political axis propaganda network. She worked at ABS CBN news network for many years, giving out Fake News and biased political opinions.
After her work in the ABS CBN propaganda network,;she founded the Rappler.com, to continue her work as the Aquino propaganda mouthpiece in the social media…Unfortunately, the social media is a new Information Tool…It is a “level playing field ” of opinions and news. The ordinary Filipino, can have his/her “two pesos worth of opinion” , and can debate or refute anything that comes out from any media.
Now, that Maria Reesa cannot monopolize the outcome of the news network, with her fake news and biased opinions. She went to foreign network media, to feed them with her fake news and biased opinions. These foreign media, who are ignorant to the real situation of the Philippines; swallowed her fake news and biased opinions, “hook, line and sinker”…
Maria Reesa will always be the puppet of the Aquino Cojuangco political axis, and the oligarchs. She is at work to remove Pres. Duterte, and replace him with the Fake Vice President Lugaw Robredo !
Of course Bono honors Ressa. Bono supports the same people who weaponized the media to control the people. And Ressa and Rappler, just like CNN, Washington Post, NY Times licks the butthole of the same millionaire politician schemers and would do their best to cover up their crime while parading them like heroes.
The only thing that looks like a war zone in the Philippines is some “wolf!”-crying-kid’s face.
Pathological lying, also known as mythomania and pseudologia fantastica, is the chronic behavior of compulsive or habitual lying (healthline.com).
Exorcism appears to be the only remedy for extreme cases.
The ironic thing is that both sides claim the other is arguing with Ad Hominem arguments and insults, but don’t realize both sides are creating the same type of argument. That is, both arguments argue based on credibility and the character of the writer. You don’t need to take my word for it. Just look up the links to this post above and you get my point.
I find majority of GRP’s opinions refreshing to most Filipinos who don’t think for themselves today, but it matters less to me what is happening to the drug war than what is being done about it. What is your opinion on improving the drug war’s efforts or reducing it? Pick a stance. Those are the real types of opinions I want to see from this website.
GRP taught me to think for myself by the way, so I’m questioning both of your stances on just commenting on the trivia of lessening the real data of the drug war’s efforts by a few thousand to something with still thousands of deaths. What do you want done exactly?
Of course, as a fellow freethinker, you’re free to question my ideas too, but only with reasoning. The biggest trap a skeptic can give to others is to encourage others to be skeptical of everything but their own ideas.
@!Michael (A.A) :
If you look at the history of war on illegal drugs…Mexico is the portal door for illegal drug exports to the U.S. …Columbia is where the coca leaves are processed into Cocaine…These illegal drugs are exported thruout the world. Both countries have rich and powerful drug cartels and drug lords. Both countries have “Narco Politicians”. The Police is corrupted by these drug cartels and drug lords in both countries. The Mexican Police is too corrupt to function; so the Mexican Army and Mexican Marines have to take over the duties of the Mexican Police.
Drug Trade in the world is the largest “underground economy”…drug cartels earn multi billion U.S. dollar and European Euros per year. Drug Mules come from all kinds of people who want to make fast bucks…
What would you do, if you are a police officer, or a politician, like Leila de Lima….a drug lord comes to you and offer you millions of U.S. dollars. And, will promise you to make you very very rich , beyond your human imagination with drug money ? Former PNP Gen. Albayade had already fallen to such tempting offer… Politicians , judges and other public officials can also be tempted with such offer…Leila de Lima, herself, became an illegal drug distributor. Mar Roxas did it, on the Barangay level…
Now, China has a good anti drug policy…if you deal with illegal drugs, of any kind. Death Sentence is implemented…remember those Filipinos, who became drug mules in China ? They were executed.
Nothing will deter any drug dealer, drug lord or drug cartels; except the Death Sentence. Sentencing them to prison will not deter them.,,as seen, by the crook, Leila de Lima, using the Bilibid Prison, as Center of Illegal Drug Distribution, and making the Bilibid Prisoner convicts, as drug lords..
Those “human rights groups”, are just encouraging those drug dealers and drug lords to be emboldened to do, and expand their illegal drug trade business…
No alternative, except to bring back the Death Sentence…Let us execute these drug dealers, drug lords and drug cartels, by Firing Squad ! Police Officers and Public Officials can be executed by hanging them by their neck until they are dead !