"The Birth of Palawan Daily News" An Editorial Cartoon by Kent Janaban

Editorial

The Birth: Palawan Daily News

By Palawan Daily News

June 18, 2018

Amidst the climate of social and political inquisitiveness of the people, the press has risen. For the public to know, to be continuously updated, and to be fully awakened to what is happening in the society they belong – these have been the purposes of the news media, and these should always be.

Palawan Daily News, with its established values, perfectly understands the essence of journalism, and is ready to breathe out balanced news stories that push for transparency and accountability.

PDN is here to also offer substantially new engaging contents in various fields, highlighting current issues that need the attention and participation of the public and the state.

With the use of the internet, acquiring news nowadays is just one click away from its readers. Practical and efficient if, and only if, it is not “fake news.” One that is rampant today is the spread of unreliable and fallacious half-truths over the internet. Worth to note that generally, news content tends to be dominated by government and social issues. It covers mainly a great portion of the dailies, with the business and investments also in line with the situation of the state – making the information that is fed to the people crooked and a statement that nobody can rely on. This is why Palawan Daily News is founded – to deliver news to the world that is seeking for the truth, and to present a non-biased journalism.

Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that, “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.” This serves as the center point and basis for the mass media practice in the Philippines. This clause also carries with it the history of the Filipinos’ fight for freedom – the nationalistic fervor that fueled journalism and should continuously nurture it. The media has the power over information, it only depends on how to use this power to serve the people.

Moreover, according to Article II, Section 24, “The state recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation-building,” and that, therefore, mass media serves as a conduit that ensures the flow of information between the government and the governed. This clause, in conjunction with the Freedom of Expression, vividly presents the objectives and purposes of the press. These set the scope and limits of the power of mass media, their responsibilities and obligations to the public.

The Palawan Daily News pledges to strive to live by these tenets however gigantic a task alongside with its definite values and vision. PDN believes that in order to achieve its goals as a medium of communication between the State and the people, the members and contributors should work with integrity, respect and teamwork, valuing people, performing with high level of excellence and quality with great accuracy and impartiality. PDN envisions to be as a trusted publishing company in the region of MIMAROPA, reaching out to the people not only locally, but also globally.

“It should never be in the interest of the newspaper, but to the interest of the people.” A newspaper is a medium of communication which should always seek the truth from lies for the news to never be crooked – because credible and unbiased information serve as the foundation of trust between the people, the media and the society, as a whole. MIMAROPA, Palawan Daily News is now born.