Category: Free Expression – Asia

Limitless time, space on Net, limited access still for Pinoys

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LESS THAN ONE IN EVERY THREE Filipinos have direct access to the social network and public discourse that the Internet offers.

Even sadder still, access to devices that enable citizens to create and send information and content online, as well as the slow speed of connection make life less happy for those online. Of the 30 percent of Filipinos with access to the Internet, only 70 to 80 percent are on YoutUbe, Facebook, and social network sites.

This profile of the Internet community in the Philippines, according to blogger Juned Sonido of Baratillo Pamphlet, makes for a “digital divide” that denies many Filipinos a chance to cross over online.

Sonido, citing Philippine and foreign studies on civic engagement in the digital age, said that local web access services remain “a lot slower from the rest of the world.”

Many users access the the web from their offices, using office equipment, hence the “peak hours” of Internet use are logged from 12 noon to 4 pm.

Most Filipinos seem reluctant to use the Internet, he said, and there is a dearth of studies on patterns of Internet by Filipinos, except for those conducted for marketing purposes.

Yet even as few citizens are active online, the Philippine government, like most of its counterparts in the world, is also vigorously monitoring content uploads online. Meanwhile, many candidates in the last elections have also take to meeting and dining with bloggers who have significant numbers of followers, he said.

The most important thing to remember, according to Sonido, is that the Internet offers nearly limitless time and space for expansion. The analogy that applies to the Internet, in his mind, is that of the miracle of the fish and the loaves of bread — multiplied many times over to nourish the multitude.

A ‘new global nervous system’? They also call it The Net

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THERE IS “a new information nervous system in the world today.” Its name, in a word: the Internet.

The Internet, according to Press Attache Bettina Malone of the United States Embassy in Manila, is a most important platform for free expression, telling stories, encouraging public discourse, and for exchange of ideas and entrepreneurship.

In her remarks at the opening today of the forum “Taking Stock, Taking Control: Freedom of Expression Online,” that PCIJ organized with assistance from the US Embassy Press Office, Malone cited the role of citizen journalists in the May 2013 elections.

“Citizen journalism is about citizens telling stories about their communities… stories that can be brought to the attention of those who make the decision,” she said.

“We have a new nervous system in the world,” she said, but also cited the need to expand Internet access and engagement with greater numbers of the population. “What about the ordinary citizens? are they aware of their freedom of expression?”

Malone said the US Embassy had first thought about supporting a public forum for citizen journalists to mark the observance of World Press Freedom Day last May 3. The Embassy later agreed to support the PCIJ’s pitch for a post-election activity that would tackle the role of social media in the May 2013 elections.

“Freedom of expression and an open exchange of ideas” are the ideas behind the conduct of the forum, she said. Citizen journalists must “help keep the freest press in Asia, free,” Malone said.

KL gov’t seizes opposition papers; cops poise ban on protest vigils

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THE HOME MINISTER of Malaysia has confiscated copies of two major opposition publications Harakah and Suara Keadilan, in various states, the independent online newspaper Malaysiakini reported.

?Malaysiakini, quoting Harakah’s online news site, HarakahDaily, said copies of the party newspaper of PAS (Pan Malaysia Islamic Party) were said to have been seized in Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, and Perak.

A Twitter post, Malaysiakini said, also revealed that copies of newspaper of the PKR or People’s Justice Party of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim were also confiscated in four states on Thursday, May 23.

At the same time, Malaysiakini said a ban on the conduct of candle-light vigils is emerging.

“Politically-motivated candlelight vigils have reached a level where the police could no longer tolerate, Malaysiakini reported, adding that CPO Mohmad Salleh had urged people to “voice their grievances through legal channels instead.”

The marketing manager of Haraka Daily, Ahmad Faisal Tawang, had said he received calls from vendors in the morning, informing him that not only were ministry representatives seizing copies of the paper, were also raiding the vendors’ premises,” the Malaysiakini story said.

Tawang was also quoted as saying that copies of the paper’s Friday edition dated May 24-26, which featured the frontpage headline ‘GST hadiah BN untuk rakyat (GST is BN’s gift to the rakyat)’ were seized.

Malaysiakini said about 500 copies of the paper’s edition were allegdly seized in Malacca, and more than 1,000 were taken in Alor Setar, and Kedah.

KL crackdown: 2 opposition leaders arrested, sedition vs student activist

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TWO opposition leaders in Malaysia were arrested separately today, May 23, for alleged sedition, over their role in protest actions over the ruling party’s supposed resort to fake ballots and other irregularities in the May 5, 2013 elections there, according to independent online newspaper Malaysiakini.

Those arrested were Tian Chua, an officer of the People’s Justice Party of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim; and Haris Ibrahim, leader of a rights activists group ABU or Anything But Umno.

Malaysiakini said the day-time arrest of Chua and Ibrahim were “believed to be in relation to a recent anti-electoral fraud forum in Kuala Lumpur.”

The arrest of Chua and Ibrahim came hours after prosecutors charged student leader Adam Adli, 24, with sedition for “seditious statements that included calling for people to ‘go down to the streets to seize back our power’ while addressing a political forum,” according to the Asian Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper said Adam had pleaded innocent at a Kuala Lumpur district court, was released on bail, and told to attend a hearing on July 2. If convicted, he faces a three-year jail term and a fine.

The Asian Wall Street Journal also reported that Chua managed to post on Twitter that “police detained him at an airport and told him he was being held for sedition.”

On the other hand, the newspaper said, “Mr. Haris was held separately, but it was not immediately clear what he was being investigated for.”

“After his arrest, Mr. Chua tweeted that Malaysians should not allow themselves to be ‘overtaken by fear (but should) continue to assemble peacefully and have faith,’” the newspaper added.

Last May 5, Malaysia held general elections that saw Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Barisan National Party, in power since 1957, winning by a slim majority. The party bagged 133 of the 222 parliamentary seats up for grabs.

In contrast, the three-party opposition coalition of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim won only 89 seats, despite an 80-percent voter turnout.

Anwar, a personal friend of ousted Philippine president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, had called the poll results the worst in Malaysia’s history.

His coalition had frowned upon plans of followers to hold protest rallies but Anwar had been quoted in the news media as saying, “we must be allowed to express ourselves properly in stadiums or in the vicinity of a public space.”

Malaysia’s Sedition Act is a 1948 law that was enacted first by the colonial regime of British Malaya. It bans speech with “seditious tendency”, or which would “bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against” the government or engender “feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races”.

Deadline Approaching: Basic Investigative Reporting Seminar

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Basic IR web photo-large

PCIJ’s Basic Investigative Reporting Seminar: Political Clans, Governance, and Journalists’ Safety

Open to mid-career and senior Filipino journalists, citizen media, and bloggers
Researchers, anchors, producers, editors, news managers, freelance reporters, contributors, and stringers of print, TV, radio, and online media may apply. Citizen media and bloggers covering public policy issues are also eligible.

Application Deadlines and Tentative Seminar Dates:

Visayas
Application Deadline: May 17, 2013
Seminar Dates: June 27–30, 2013

Mindanao
Application Deadline: June 10, 2013
Seminar Dates: July 25–28, 2013

Luzon
Application Deadline: July 10, 2013
Seminar Dates: Aug. 22–25, 2013

NCR
Application Deadline Aug. 1, 2013
Seminar Dates: Sept. 19–22, 2013

Seminar Topics

Session 1: Media Killings, Political Violence, and the Culture of Impunity in the Philippines

Overview of media killings and human rights abuses in the Philippines; the hot spots of political violence and human rights abuse; The legal context, and international and Philippine protocols on Conflict, Human Rights, and Extra-Judicial Killings.

Panel Discussion with officials from government agencies involved in monitoring and prosecuting human rights and extra judicial killings cases such as the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Department of Justice, and the Commission on Human Rights

Session 2: Political Clans: Past and Future Links

Historical analysis of political clans and their networks in government; The connections between the rule of political clans in certain areas with development plans and the socio-economic conditions of the areas; Participation of certain political clans in the May 13, 2013 national and local elections and its implications for governance.

Session 3: The Government’s Purse: Tracking the State’s Resources

The government’s budget process, assessment of the use and spending of various lump-sum funds (e.g., PDAF, IRA), and the sources of financing available to national and local government agencies; Information and insights journalists may derive from datasets available on government websites.

Session 4: Ethics and Safety: Field and Newsroom Judgment Calls

Discussion of measures that newsrooms may implement to protect journalists, and ethical and editorial standards that media agencies may institutionalize; Practical safety tips and safe-passage techniques in high-risk and dangerous areas of coverage.

Session 5: The Fundamentals of Investigative Reporting

Investigative methods and tools that could be used when studying political clans, governance, and extra-judicial killings.

Session 6. Tracking the Investigative Trails

  • Practice Set A. The Paper Trail: Understanding, Connecting, and Organizing Documents and Databases — a “show-and-tell” session of the different types of documents useful for journalists doing in-depth reports on political clans and governance.
  • Practice Set B. The People Trail: The Art of the Interview — mock interviews and critique session

Session 7: Putting the Story Together

Various techniques to make a complicated and data-driven story accessible to citizens; How an investigative report can be translated for broadcast (TV and radio) or rendered on multimedia platforms.

Workshop: Pitching Story Ideas and Developing Story Plans

Funding

The PCIJ will cover:

  • Round-trip transportation from the participant’s place of work and/or residence to the seminar venue.
  • Board and lodging during the seminar.

The PCIJ will also provide a modest fellowship grant for story proposals that will be approved during or immediately after the seminar.

Application Requirements

  1. Completed application form with two references (see attached .doc file).
  2. One or two samples of work discussing public policy, development, human rights, or governance issues.
    • For print and online: link to the stories or attach copies of stories in Word or PDF
    • For TV and radio: link to the broadcast story, or attach script or story concept/treatment

Successful applicants will be notified within 10 working days after deadline.
The seminar graduates will be accorded priority slots in the subsequent Advanced Investigative Reporting Seminars that PCIJ will conduct in 2014.

Sending your application:

By email:
Email address: training@pcij.org
Please state ‘Application to Basic IR Seminar’ on the subject line

Note: We will acknowledge receipt of all submissions. If you do not receive any reply within three working days, please resend your application and move a follow-up email or call (02) 410-4768.

By fax:
Telefax: (02) 410-4768
Please write ‘ATTN: PCIJ Training Desk’ on the fax cover sheet

Note: After faxing, please call (02) 410-4768 to confirm if all the documents had been transmitted successfully.

By mail:

The Training Desk
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
3/F Criselda 2 Bldg., 107 Scout de Guia St.
Brgy. Sacred Heart, Quezon City 1104

Note: We will acknowledge receipt of mailed applications via email or text.

Questions?
Please contact the PCIJ Training Desk at (02) 410-4768 or training@pcij.org

Through combined onsite and field learning sessions, the seminar aims to enhance the participants’ investigative reporting skills and practice, and offer a framework for analyzing media killings and safety issues in the context of governance, the culture of impunity, and the presence of political clans and private armed groups in many parts of the country. The seminar also seeks to highlight the role of the police and the Commission on Human Rights as vital sources of journalists.

The seminar will feature lecture-discussions and workshops to identify potential risks and practical safety tips when covering dangerous assignments. A Story Development Workshop will give participants an opportunity to pitch story proposals that the PCIJ may consider for fellowship grants and editorial supervision.

Experts from the academe, national media organizations, the police, human rights agencies and organizations, and data repository agencies will lead the discussions.

This seminar series draws support from the US-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED).