Category Archives: media

CCTV and the Pleasure of Technological Control

By admin | January 14, 2013

Apparently, the CCTV doesn’t lie. What appears on the CCTV screen is accepted as visually accurate, even true. It seems to be the latest truth-telling device which TV networks have been using to expose the petty and heinous crimes committed by the poor. The TV image is manipulated in the news editing room, the internet […]

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The Disappearing Real in the Virtual

By admin | January 2, 2013

A new library building was recently inaugurated in a public high school in the quaint town of Mauban, Quezon. During the ribbon cutting ceremonies, the mayor proposed to use the facility as a Community eCenter. He added that PLDT, which has a signal tower in front of the school, might be persuaded to provide an […]

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Politics in the Time of Unli

By admin | December 7, 2012

These are unli times. Categories of the infinite pervade our everyday activities: bottomless, all-in, 24/7, unli, eat and drink all you can. Suddenly, a vision of limitless reality has appeared to be the new normal for people living in our small yet disordered society. The High Priests of Big Business are assuring us that an […]

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Politics is the Medium

By admin | November 2, 2012

Jose Rizal wrote Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo in Spanish, a foreign language to most indios in late 19th century Philippines. But Noli and Fili became an instant hit among the masa, and the two novels succeeded in inspiring many people to rise up against Spanish colonialism. It was much later before they were […]

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Southeast Asia’s Internet Dilemma

By admin | October 11, 2012

Written for The Diplomat Surveillance cameras at internet cafés, harsh accountability standards for webmasters and the specter of self-censorship have many questioning the future of Internet freedom. The rise of information and communication technologies has not only revolutionized how people interact with each other but also forced many governments to operate in significantly altered political […]

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Malaysia’s Sinister Internet Law

By admin | September 24, 2012

Malaysians are right to protest the recent amendments that the government made to the Evidence Act of 1950. Although they deal specifically with the internet, the amendments could have wider implications on media freedom, democracy, and human rights. Section 114A of the bill seeks “to provide for the presumption of fact in publication in order […]

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Interpellation Notes on the Anti-Cybercrime Bill

By admin | May 15, 2012

House Bill 5808 (Committee Report 1818) or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 was tackled by the Lower House last Wednesday. This representation and Rep. Tonchi Tinio interpellated the sponsor of the measure, Rep. Sigfrido Tinga, who is also the chairman of the Committee on Information Communications Technology. Below is the outline of my interpellation. […]

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Perverse Transparency

By admin | March 22, 2012

Promoting transparency is the preferred technique of politicians and their apologists today. If an official wants to be politically-correct, he must be optically-correct as well. Behold the rise of politico-techies! Before, a politician must learn how to hold a smiling baby while posing before the cameras. Today, he must instantly tweet the incident. Governance requires […]

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Statistics, Hashtags, and Political Blogging

By admin | November 27, 2011

Excerpts of my presentation in the Visayas Blogging Summit 2011 in Cebu It’s fair to assume that we are fascinated with numbers, except of course during our student days when we cursed calculus, algebra, and our math wizard classmates. But as a general rule, it seems we often equate truth with numbers. A thing, an […]

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Southeast Asia: Social Media and Human Rights

By admin | November 6, 2011

Delivered during the Amnesty International Western USA Conference in Los Angeles, November 5, 2011. Thanks @KalaMendoza for the invitation We already know that social media is a powerful information and communication tool. It has wonderful uses: Monitor, share, and create news; build networks, enhance communications; reach a broader audience while at the same time engage […]

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