In the last few weeks, the editors and managers of Rappler have been busy assessing this year to better prepare for the year ahead. Worldwide, the future of news and journalism itself appears bleak from where we stand: numerous closures, lay-offs, forced retirements, dwindling revenues, rising threats from big tech — ranging from the deprioritization of news on social media platforms to the menacing black hole that is AI.
The big challenge for us is to make sure we remain relevant, while helping maintain reader trust and staying afloat to survive the eddies and tides that can quickly swallow us. The journey ahead will be no less tumultuous, very similar to all the political chaos we’ve witnessed this year. The world is truly different and the predictable order we’ve all been used to is no longer there.
A source of comfort for us is that the search for stability while keeping the democratic space wide open is not our sole concern, but a shared one. I’d like to think you’re in the same boat as we are, still constantly aspiring for a better future and appreciative of news and information that has integrity. It would be heartwarming to hear from you, to reassure us that you are there to support us all the way, in whatever form.
SURROGACY. By this time, I’m pretty sure you’re already sated with Sara Duterte news, so I’ll begin this newsletter not with her, but with stories about a long-running phenomenon that you’ve probably heard about. Several media outlets have produced similar reports, indicative of how widespread the no-longer-secret practice of commercial surrogacy has become. A two-part series we published recently revealed the following:
- Surrogate mothers can earn from US$10,000 to $20,000, or about half a million to minimum P1 million, making the practice extremely attractive.
- Surrogacy in the Philippines is cheaper than in the US where rates can go as high as $200,000 (about P11.2 million) or even more.
- Falsification of birth records is facilitated by doctors themselves to skirt the more bureaucratic adoption process.
- There is no law that regulates the “industry” although a bill has been filed in the House of Representatives. The bill, however, only permits altruistic surrogacy — in anticipation of opposition from the Catholic Church had the proposed legislation covered commercial surrogacy.
Child advocates say that a law that legalizes surrogacy could better protect intended parents, children born from this arrangement, and surrogate mothers who want only a better future either for themselves or their own children.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORT. This holiday season, traffic in the metropolitan area has become worse and commuters desperate to find alternative ways of reaching their destinations would be happy to be reminded that the only water-based public transportation in Manila is available as an option. The Pasig River Ferry Service has 13 operational stations that stretch from the Escolta area in Manila to Hulo in Mandaluyong, Guadalupe and Valenzuela in Makati, and Pinagbuhatan in Pasig.
Open Mondays to Saturdays, ferries start transporting passengers from 7 am to 4 pm at the Pinagbuhatan Station and from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm at the Escolta Station. Three other stations are being eyed in Intramuros, Bridgetowne Pasig, and Marikina.
The best part? The ferry service has been free since 2019. It won’t remain as such forever as the Metroplitan Manila Development Authority is planning to reimplement fares. Once upon a time, passengers paid P75 for a one-way journey from Escolta to the Pinagbuhatan Station, already quite steep by commuting standards, given travel time.
Admittedly, the ferry option can be made more attractive if the Pasig River itself was cleared of trash, and waters were less murky. Ferries can even become a tourist attraction if managed well and made more efficient. Think of Hong Kong, for example, or even the electric ferries of Bangkok and Sydney.
ICC’S APPEAL. When the International Criminal Court (ICC) recently released to the media an appeal to “direct witnesses,” including members of the Philippine National Police, to surface, come forward, and provide more information about the killings under the Duterte drug war, some saw it as part of a “final push towards trial.”
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor told researcher-writer Jodesz Gavilan that the witness appeal is just “one of the tools deployed by the Office to obtain access to further information and evidence.” We continue to await developments in this area. Will we be in for a surprise before Christmas, in keeping with the turbulence of 2024?
I appeal again for your help to allow us to continue writing about and monitoring stories that matter. Independent and quality journalism is truly expensive. Your donation this Christmas season will go a long way in empowering our journalism. – Rappler.com
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