‘Report more on local execs’ fight vs illegal drugs’

MANILA, Philippines — While the Philippine National Police (PNP) has been waging an intensified campaign against illegal drugs, the government has yet to define the role of governors, mayors and barangay officials in the drug war.

Ronald Mendoza, dean of the Ateneo School of Government, pointed out that the participation of governors, mayors and barangay officials in addressing the country’s drug problem was hardly reported in the media.

Mendoza also urged the media to report more on the war on drugs and cover other campaigns of significant impact by law enforcement agencies, particularly the PNP.

“The media should take a step back to check the forest rather than checking each tree,” said Mendoza during the Media on the War on Drugs forum initiated by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) at the Novotel Hotel in Quezon City yesterday.

He also noted the common perception that police operations and killings appeared to occur heavily in urban areas, particularly in Metro Manila.

Melinda Quintos-de Jesus, CMFR executive director, said the CMFR recorded a total of 3,282 news reports from three top newspapers in the country – The STAR, Manila Bulletin and Philippine Daily Inquirer from Dec. 6, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

“Of the three newspapers, The STAR has the most number of reports (articles) about the anti-illegal drug operations with 1,328. The Bulletin has 1,013 while the Inquirer has only 941,” said De Jesus.

With the support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norwegian embassy in Manila, the CMFR conducted a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative content analysis on the reportage by print and broadcast media.

De Jesus said the reports hardly contained information on whether police operatives were armed with warrants of arrest during the raids, a factor in the legitimacy of the police operations.

For his part, PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Benigno Durana maintained the good public perception on the way the government is addressing the campaign against illegal drugs.

“Apparently the public perception on the government is not at all shaped by how the media report the campaign against illegal drugs,” he noted, admitting, however, that many reports were slanted against the PNP.

Durana was quick to clarify that he is not blaming the media as he appealed to all sectors in society to work together in the fight against illegal drugs.