PHILIPPINES: Aquino Most Covered Presidential Candidate

Presidential candidate Benigno Aquino III was the most covered candidate in the country's three biggest newspapers during the first weeks of the official campaign in February, reports media watch group Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) in a study released on Mar. 13.

According to the CMFR, Aquino was a subject in 76 reports by the 'Manila Bulletin', the 'Philippine Daily Inquirer', and the 'Philippine Star'. Coming in second was candidate Manny Villar with 69 reports.

Many reports about the presidential candidates, said the study, "focused on their day-to-day campaign sorties".

Further, from Fe. 10 to 27, "almost half of the front-page articles/items in the three papers were about the presidential, vice presidential, senatorial, party-list elections and general issues about the campaign and upcoming elections (200 out of a total of 478 articles/items or 41.84 percent)."

Aquino, the study added, was not only the most covered candidate during the period monitored; he also had the most number of photos in the three papers, with 17, and fellow presidential candidate Gilberto Teodoro Jr. with 12.

Compared with that  of the presidential candidates, print coverage of the vice-presidential and senatorial candidates was far less. More disappointing was the coverage of party-list groups despite serious concerns over whether all of the groups that had been accredited by the Commission on Elections — 187 as of this release — really represent 'marginalised' sectors.

The country's biggest papers provided what seemed to be extensive coverage of development or policy issues. But the coverage was mostly superficial, with these issues being barely discussed in the reports.

In fact, continued the report, more than half of the front-page reports analysed did not provide  sufficient background information for readers to understand the issues being discussed.

For the complete report, visit the Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility.