Jairus Vincent S.

Gatan Political Economy of Manila Bulletin

The Manila Bulletin

Manila Bulletin is the second oldest newspaper in the Philippines next to the Manila
Times, and the largest broadsheet newspaper by circulation (Media Buzz, n.d.). According to
the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), MB was incorporated in 1912 and it was re-incorporated
as Bulletin Publishing Corporation in 1959. The Manila Bulletin publishes its broadsheet seven
days per week.

A. Economic Background

Manila Bulletin's Net Income

30,000,000

25,000,000

20,000,000

15,000,000

10,000,000

5,000,000

0
2018 2019 2020 2021

Net Income

Figure 1. Manila Bulletin’s Net Income for the past four years

The Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation was listed on the Philippine Stock
Exchange in 1990. The company is very transparent when it comes to its reports and these
documents can be accessed through its website. The annual company reports from 2018 to
2021 show that there is a decline in the company’s revenue from ₱1.97 billion in 2018 to ₱787.8
million in 2021. On the other hand, the net income of the Manila Bulletin is fluctuating. In
2018, MB acquired a net income of ₱16.2 million. For the succeeding year, the company’s net
income rose to ₱25.2 million. In 2020, MB’s net income lowered to ₱17.5 million which is
slightly higher than their 2018 record. Finally, Manilla Bulletin’s net income reached ₱21.2
million last year. In recent years, the Manila Bulletin has also faced some difficulties in running
its media machinery. The company’s president, Dr. Emilio C. Yap III, said that the global
pandemic and the consumer’s shift from print to digital media was a challenge for them.

B. Political Background
Manila Bulletin is currently owned by the Yap family, the 31st richest family in the
Philippines according to Forbes (2022). As stated in MB’s company profile, the company is
54.20% owned by U.S. Automotive Co., Inc. which is also owned by the Yap family. The
company flourished under the leadership of the Yap’s patriarch, the late Don Emilio T. Yap
Sr. He served as Manila Bulletin’s chairman of the board for 30 years, from 1984 until 2014
(Venecia Jr, 2022). His influence in the world of business is seen in his chairmanship in various
business entities and academe such as the Centro Escolar University, PhilTrust Bank, Manila
Prince Hotel, Liwayway Publishing Inc., and others. Upon Don Emilio’s death in 2014, Basilio
C. Yap, his son, replaced him as the chairman of the board of Manila Bulletin and U.S.
Automotive Co., and all other businesses and organizations in the country. On the other hand,
Dr. Emilio Yap III was elected as MB’s president in 2018 and 2020 (CMFR, 2018; MB 2020).
In 1986, the New York Times reported that Don Emilio Yap has ‘close ties with the late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Meanwhile, the late and former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III
considered Don Emilio Yap Sr. as a ‘good friend’ of the Aquino family under his statement on
Don Emilio’s passing in 2014.

C. Cultural Background
Contained in Manila Bulletin’s mission and vision are its values as a media company
and its aspirations for the Philippines and the Filipino people. The company vision states that
the company sees journalism as “an instrument for the establishment of a just and fair society
of citizens.” In their core values, Manila Bulletin’s employees’ first commitment is to the truth
and to help customers which they consider as their “partners in growth.” Manila Bulletin’s
mission is to provide Filipinos with ‘accurate and objective news of the Philippines’ whether
they are in or outside the country. They also added that MB will be positive in their coverage
and interpretation.

Manila Bulletin: For the Common Good or For Personal Interests?

Dean Luis Teodoro (2018) of the University of the Philippines College of Mass
Communication said in his lecture that “The political and economic interests and concern of
the media help explain why news is framed in a particular way.” The question now is whose
interests are being represented by the Manila Bulletin? Is it the interests of the Yap Family or
is it the public interests we see in their reports?

In the case of the Manila Bulletin, the company’s value represents the interest of the
general public. Manila Bulletin (n.d.) wrote in its profile that it “became a chronicler of news
and inspiring stories about every Filipino – the youth and toddlers, the elderly, the farmers and
fisherfolks, the religious and socio-civic groups, and eminent world figures who made it into
the news.” This might be a subjective statement coming from the company; therefore, how can
we say that they represent the interest of the public? We can confirm this by looking at three
things: their area of bias, framing, and credibility. The Reuters Institute for the Study of
Journalism’s Digital News Report 2022 ranked MB as the 2nd most trusted news brand in the
Philippines (Vera-Ruiz, 2022). The public has a high trust rating with Manila Bulletin based
on reports. On the other hand, digesting MB’s area of bias, Quijote et. al. (2019) found that
Manila Bulletin is unbiased based on its sentiments and lexical use. Huitsing (2020), however,
reported that MB has a strong pro-government bias in its framing. Lastly, Manila Bulletin’s
coverage and interpretation aim to be more positive and they home to be a medium that
constructs rather than destructs. The framing of their news is neutral but editorially, according
to Huitsing (2020), they do not criticize people in power i.e., they do not criticize former
President Rodrigo Duterte. With their use of positive framing and reporting, we can safely say
that Manila Bulletin is ‘playing safe’ but ‘unbalanced.’ We can therefore deduce that Manila
Bulletin represents mixed interests, and they are for the general public and also the
government.
 References:

CMFR Staff. (2018). Manila Bulletin Names New President and Publisher. Center for Media
Freedom and Responsibility. https://cmfr-phil.org/chronicle/manila-bulletin-names-
new-president-and-publisher/.

Devenecia Jr., J. (2022). A tribute to Don Emilio Yap and the Manila Bulletin; our family’s
‘Rock of Gibraltar’ turns 73. Manila Bulletin. https://mb.com.ph/2022/02/13/a-tribute-
to-don-emilio-yap-and-the-manila-bulletin-our-familys-rock-of-gibraltar-turns-73/.

Forbes. (2022). Yap Family Profile. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from
https://www.forbes.com/profile/yap/?sh=43bc4b716759.

Huitsing, M. (2020). Manila Bulletin. Media Bias Fact Check.

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/manila-bulletin/.

Manila Bulletin. (2018). Annual Report 2018.

http://disclosure.mb.com.ph/2019/Year%20End%20Reports/2018%20Annual%20Rep
ort.pdf.

Manila Bulletin. (2019). Annual Report 2019.

http://disclosure.mb.com.ph/2020/Annual%20Stockholders'%20Meeting/MB%20ann
ual%20report%202019.pdf.

Manila Bulletin. (2020). Annual Report 2020.

http://disclosure.mb.com.ph/2021/Annual%20Stockholders'%20Meeting/MB%20ann
ual%20report%202020.pdf.

Manila Bulletin. (2021). Annual Report 2021.

http://disclosure.mb.com.ph/2022/Annual%20Stockholders'%20Meeting/2021%20An
nual%20Report.pdf.

Manila Bulletin. (n.d.). Company Profile of Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from
https://mb.com.ph/company-profile-of-manila-bulletin/.

Manila Bulletin News Editors. (2020). Manila Bulletin names Dr. Emilio C. Yap III as
President, Crispulo J. Icban Jr. as Publisher. Manila Bulletin.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/06/30/manila-bulletin-names-dr-emilio-c-yap-iii-as-
president-crispulo-j-icban-jr-as-publisher/.

Media Buzz. (n.d.). Philippine Newspapers and Philippine News Paper List. Retrieved October
14, 2022, from https://www.mediabuzz.org/newspapers/philippines/.
New York Times Archives. (1986). A Marcos Mystery Solved. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/07/world/a-marcos-mystery-solved.html.

Philippine Stock Exchange Edge. (n.d.). Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. Retrieved
October 12, 2022, from
https://edge.pse.com.ph/companyInformation/form.do?cmpy_id=1.

Quijote, T., Zamoras, A., & Ceniza, A. (2019). Bias detection in Philippine political news
articles using SentiWordNet and inverse reinforcement model. IOP Conference Series:
Materials Science and Engineering, 482 (1), 012036.
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/482/1/012036.

Teodoro, L. V. (2018). The Political Economy of the Media: A Critical Perspective | Dr. Luis
V. Teodoro [Video]. YouTube. youtube.com/watch?v=M4BtioZ1Rx0&t=558s.

Vera-Ruiz, E. (2022). Manila Bulletin among Filipinos’ most trusted news brands, report says.
Manila Bulletin. https://mb.com.ph/2022/06/15/manila-bulletin-among-filipinos-most-
trusted-news-brands-report-says/.