By Patrick Alcedo and Marissa Largo
Philippines Studies professors and students of 91亚色 welcomed 2022 Marshall McLuhan Fellow Karmina Constantino on 15 May 2023 in Toronto. Constantino, a veteran Filipina television broadcast journalist and an anchor with the ABS-CBN News Channel known for her hard-hitting questions to politicians, presented her compelling and timely talk: .
Hosted by 91亚色鈥檚 at the 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research of 91亚色, Constantino spoke to the group of her unrelenting service to the Filipino people by seeking the truth with journalistic integrity. With examples and statistics from the Marcos and Duterte regimes, she outlined the correlation between censorship of the media, curtailment of democracy, and rise of disinformation in the Philippines. Constantino continues to promote critical public discourse and accountability during the current presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., amid the spread of misinformation, or fake news, through the internet. The journalist recounted her interview with Jose Montemayor Jr., presidential candidate in 2022, who accused her news organization of accepting bribes. With cool conviction, Constantino passionately rebuked the accusation and adamantly rejected Montemayor鈥檚 false claims in a segment that has since gone viral on Twitter.
Constantino is known to Filipinos in the Philippines and in the diaspora in Canada. We need not look further than Dateline Philippines, a program with ANC Digital News, to keep abreast with what is happening on the ground in the Philippines. Many have come to admire her balanced reporting, responsible investigation, astute and careful research of matters in focus, and her fine ability in posing difficult questions to her guests to make visible the complexities of issues at hand鈥攁nd even the humanity behind them鈥攆or the public.
The granddaughter of national historian, Renato Constantino, whose two-volume, The Philippines: A Past Revisited, are must-readings for Philippine historiographers and university students in the Philippines, Costantino is a graduate of film in the College of Mass Communication at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Before anchoring Dateline Philippines, she co-hosted Studio 23鈥檚 Breakfast program and the program Mornings for the ANC News Channel.
Constantino is last year鈥檚 prestigious Marshall McLuhan Fellow and is embarking on her Canadian speaking tour. Established in 1997, the esteemed fellowship is bestowed annually by the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines to a candidate 鈥渆mbodying outstanding qualities in the field of investigative journalism.鈥
Colin Townson, Charge d鈥橝ffaires of the Embassy of Canada to the Philippines said in his praise of Constantino that she is highly deserving of the Marshall McLuhan fellowship for her 鈥渦nflinching commitment to speak truth to power, admirable consistency in ferreting out the most complicated issues of the day, and a stirring courage to ask the toughest questions.鈥 Other stops on her speaking tour include Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver.
This story also appeared in the (29 May 2023)