ARTICLE 1- FACT (EXPLICIT) SOURCE:

https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness
and recover without requiring special treatment. However, some will become seriously
ill and require medical attention. Older people and those with underlying medical
conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, or cancer
are more likely to develop serious illness. Anyone can get sick with COVID-19 and
become seriously ill or die at any age.
The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the
disease and how the virus spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by staying
at least 1 metre apart from others, wearing a properly fitted mask, and washing your
hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently. Get vaccinated when it’s your turn and
follow local guidance.
The virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles
when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe. These particles range from larger
respiratory droplets to smaller aerosols. It is important to practice respiratory etiquette,
for example by coughing into a flexed elbow, and to stay home and self-isolate until you
recover if you feel unwell.

ARTICLE 2- VALUE (EXPLICIT) SOURCE: https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-

vaccine/news/20211202/pfizer-or-moderna-head-to-head-study-shows-one-shot-has-
an-edge
Which coronavirus vaccine is best at beating COVID-19 -- Moderna or Pfizer?
New research hands that honor to Moderna: In what is billed as the first head-to-head
comparison of the two shots, researchers analyzed the health records of nearly 440,000
U.S. veterans who received one of the two vaccines between early January 2021 and
mid-May 2021. All were followed for 24 weeks.
While both vaccines were highly effective in preventing infection, hospitalization and
death, the Moderna vaccine conferred a 21% lower risk of infection and a 41% lower
risk of hospitalization
“Both vaccines are incredibly effective, with only rare breakthrough cases,” said
research team member Dr. J.P. Casas, an epidemiologist and associate professor with
Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He is also executive
director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Million Veteran Program for
genetics and health research.
“But regardless of the predominant strain -- Alpha earlier and then Delta later --
Moderna was shown to be slightly more effective,” Casas noted in a VA news release.
The infection rate during the follow-up period was 4.52 per 1,000 in the Moderna
vaccine group and 5.75 per 1,000 in the Pfizer group. Those in the Pfizer group also had
higher rates of symptomatic COVID-19 (0.44 more per 1,000), hospitalization (0.55 more
per 1,000), ICU admission (0.10 more per 1,000), and death (0.02 more per 1,000) than
those in the Moderna group.
An additional phase of the study covering the period when Delta was the main strain in
the United States showed that the risk of infection was still higher among those in the
Pfizer group (6.54 more per 1,000) than in the Moderna group.
“Given the high effectiveness of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, confirmed by
our study, either one is recommended to any individual offered a choice between the
two,” said study first author Barbra Dickerman, an epidemiology instructor at the
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
“However, while the estimated differences in effectiveness were small on an absolute
scale, they may be meaningful when considering the large population scale at which
these vaccines are deployed. This information may be helpful for larger decision-making
bodies,” Dickerman said in the release.
Further evaluation of the two vaccines’ effectiveness and safety is needed, but given
“the high effectiveness and safety profile of both mRNA vaccines, either one is strongly
recommended,” the researchers concluded
Previous randomized trials found that the Pfizer vaccine was 95% effective and the
Moderna vaccine 94% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 infection, and similar
levels of protection were found in real-world use.

ARTICLE 3- POLICY (IMPLICIT) SOURCES: https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/19/leni-robredo-

can-do-it-she-must/
To be honest, we kids who grew up in the 1980s were too young to remember the
Marcos dictatorship. So when opportunity presented itself in 2001 to do something
good for the country, many of us went to EDSA and many other places across the
country
It wasn’t easy. The president then enjoyed mythical popularity both as an actor and as a
politico for a long time. Fed up with the elite’s false pretenses and hollow promises, the
poor majority cast their lot with him, only to be disappointed yet again.
For the second time, the people directly exercised sovereign power to settle what
politicians were unable or refused to settle.
The situation today may be different, but the major antagonists and problems remain
essentially the same.
The namesake and son of the dictator leads the race backed by traditional politicians
based on surveys. Heck, the president even fielded his daughter as running-mate.
Why the dictator’s son leads the race nowadays confounds many, including my friends.
But the answers should be obvious if only we did not pause our political awareness and
did not leave politics to the politicians. The system allowed the family to run for office,
welcomed them back to politics, failed to seize all their loot, kept them out of the
slammer, and allowed them to slowly ease into the social limelight. In short, impunity.
The answers should be obvious too in the frustration and disenchantment of the poor
and the middle class with the parade of administrations that followed the dictator. To
sum it all up, the presidents since the dictator’s downfall collectively gave democracy a
bad reputation. It was thus unsurprising that a plurality elected a strongman in 2016, as
democratic forces waned in prestige amid the rise of populism here and abroad.
The elections today have cut us all up several ways. Many focus on the 14 years of
dictatorship which really should never again happen, even as the forces of dictatorship
have deodorized themselves of nearly all their stench and have repackaged their
progeny as a “uniter.” Others see 30 years of democratic disenchantment. Then there
are those who are fed up for the last six years.
The ongoing national debate about our politics not only allows us to pick a side, but also
to get the best combination from all the available options thus far. And here, let me just
say, I don’t think we give fellow Filipinos the credit they deserve.
Is it not possible that the principal candidates could all be partly wrong and partly right
at the same time? Is it not possible that in the last 50 days of the campaign, one
candidate could rise by speaking the truth to the people, be the people’s advocate, and
deliver a vision that will change the course of the race?
Vice President Leni Robredo is the candidate best positioned to restore people’s trust in
democracy. Her humility and readiness to listen provide her an opportunity to see
through not just the last six years or the 14 years of martial law, but in fact the last 50
years of the Filipino experience and offer a new democratic vision. Her independent
candidacy creates a new safe and democratic space, and distances her from a party
saddled by a reputation for arrogance and entitlement.
Robredo has shown brilliance in championing the democratic way as more effective
than tyranny in serving the underrepresented and marginalized. She must respond to
Filipinos returning democracy’s tattered promissory notes. Repent for democracy’s
shortcomings and hypocrisies, Robredo must do so too to win back people’s confidence.
Why? Accountability sets democracy apart from tyranny. Democracy holds itself
accountable to the people.
Surveys may give us a snapshot of our people’s mindsets, but history is a better guide.
The last 50 years have led us to where we are now and to the leaders offering
themselves to start the next 50. Robredo can be that changemaker for how we say, win
and vindicate democracy.
With Senator Kiko Pangilinan as runningmate and diverse backers ranging from Magdalo
to Makabayan, Robredo can do it. For the aspirations and activism of the “once young”
like me and today’s young ones eager to nurse democracy back in the pink of health,
Robredo must.
CRITIQUE PAPER: Will the Philippines’ Future Be Pink?
ARTICLE: https://thediplomat.com/2022/03/will-the-philippines-future-be-pink/
Several days before the deadline to file certificates of candidacy with the country’s Commission on
Elections, it was still not clear whether the Philippines’ Vice President Leni Robredo would join the race
to the highest seat in the Philippine government, succeeding the controversial authoritarian Rodrigo
Duterte. There were talks, in fact, that she was eyeing instead the gubernatorial post in her home
province, Camarines Sur, shying away from the often-messy national elections.

Fast forward to March 2022 and Robredo’s run for the presidency has proven not just to be an ordinary
campaign but also something of a movement. The various volunteer groups that have emerged to help
guide Robredo to the nation’s highest office are a textbook social movement, which Encyclopedia
Britannica describes as resulting “from the more or less spontaneous coming together of people whose
relationships are not defined by rules and procedures but who merely share a common outlook on
society.” The last time the Philippines had a potent social movement was when it ousted the late
dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

Unlike her moneyed opponents, however, Robredo started off with insufficient funds to last the three-
month campaign period that precedes the May 9 election. But dealing with paltry resources is not
exactly new to Robredo. Although she has held the second highest post in the Philippine government,
the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for nearly six years, she has never enjoyed a full mandate and
funding from the government, earning instead brickbats from Malacañang.

The OVP has managed to surmount the various challenges that have come its way. Despite facing
personal affronts from Duterte, who accused Robredo of “competing” with the administration, the
OVP’s disaster relief and poverty alleviation programs were and continue to be lauded for their
efficiency.

What has time and again allowed Robredo to do what she always does, other than her strategic ways of
coping with people’s needs, is the constant presence of volunteers and donations from individuals and
organizations that believe in her work. As a result, when Robredo confirmed her decision to run for the
country’s highest office, it did not take long before various forms of support from individuals and
organizations started pouring in.

Fund-raising activities, the printing of various merchandise, and the hosting of lugaw, or rice porridge
feeding programs, among other activities, spontaneously unfolded in various parts of the country in
support of her candidacy. For example, in Gubat, a town in Sorsogon province not far from Robredo’s
hometown, volunteers organized a month-long daily lugaw feeding program. In less than a week,
donations to defray the cost of the activity quickly poured in, with more people asking how they could
help.

Domestically and abroad, online groups have been formed to support her running for office. Known as
one of the biggest labor exporters across the globe, the Philippines currently has an estimated 2.2
million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In many of the OFW destination countries, online groups
known as Team Leni Robredo (TLR) organize online sessions not only to learn more about Robredo’s
candidacy but also to familiarize themselves with her running mate for the vice-presidential post, Kiko
Pangilinan, an incumbent Senator, as well as her senatorial slate.
TLR Thailand (TLR-TH) was the first overseas group to have organized events anchored on voters’
education and citizen empowerment, successfully holding its first in-person PINKnic – a gathering of
supporters for the movement that seeks

change in Philippine governance – in Bangkok. Inspired by TLR-TH’s volunteerism, other TLR groups soon
mushroomed in other countries, such as in Japan, Italy, Dubai, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Europe, among
other countries.

Major Philippine dailies have reported that from organizing and coordinating activities to holding voters’
education sessions and online miting de advance (political rallies), only Robredo among the ten
presidential candidates, enjoys a wide level of support and backing from the electorate. Pulse Asia
presidential polls show, however, that Robredo trails behind Marcos.

Social media platforms, online marketplaces such as Lazada and Shopee and even groups on Facebook
now offer various kinds of Robredo campaign merchandise, such as tarpaulins, shirts, fans, stickers, pins,
posters, and other paraphernalia. Private groups of different permutations, such as those composed of
schoolmates, churchgoers, hobbyists, and the like, have also pooled resources to purchase and
assemble campaign kits. While many use these campaign kits for themselves, others buy and donate
them for other individuals, families and groups. Leni’s supporters are seen posting on their social media
accounts a call to Ipanalo natin eto (“Let’s win this”).

Recent months have also seen various groups endorsing Robredo’s candidacy, beginning in September
2021 with the backing of 1Sambayan, a newly launched coalition of Philippine leaders that subscribe to
democratic principles and practices in the country. Its main goal is to bring together capable and
principled public servants endorsed by the coalition for the May 2022 national elections.

On February 25, the 36th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, 150 law deans and
professors became the latest group to endorse her. The Ateneo de Manila University Department of
Theology, framers of the country’s 1987 Constitution, former officials and employees of the National
Economic Development Authority, Couples for Christ International Council, ex-officials of former
Presidents Benigno Aquino, Jr., Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Fidel V. Ramos, and the Philippine Bar
Association, among many other groups, have endorsed the Robredo ticket as well.

Robredo’s rallies in various parts of the country have so far been well attended by throngs of supporters
eager to snap a photo of she and her running mate. In Robredo’s kick-off campaign in Naga City in Bicol,
where her late husband Jesse Robredo served as a mayor for six terms, she drew an estimated crowd of
20,000. About the same number of people went to support her when she and Kiko Pangilinan had a rally
in vote-rich Quezon City.

The Leni-Kiko rally on February 24 in Cebu, an electorally important province, drew more than 10,000
supporters, while their campaign rally in Ilo-Ilo City, coinciding with the 36th anniversary of the EDSA
People Power Revolution, swamped the city in a sea of pink balloons, flyers, posters, and streamers.
With Ilo-Ilo being Robredo’s bailiwick, a massive crowd estimated at 40,000 showed up on that day. The
Robredo rallies in Negros Occidental stand to be the biggest, thus far, gathering more than 100, 000
Negrenses, capped by 70, 000-strong crowd at the Paglaum Sports Complex in Bacolod. This happened
against the backdrop of Marcos-allied politicians in said province.
Despite the enthusiasm of her supporters, many challenges remain. For one, presidential surveys
conducted by Pulse Asia in January, and released earlier this month, favor Ferdinand “Bongbong”
Marcos, Jr., son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

However, polls conducted by other institutions, including the largest Catholic group in the country, are
more favorable to Robredo. The January 24-February 4 survey organized by the Catholic Educational
Association of the Philippines, which polled 3,089 respondents, including students, school heads and
administrators, non-teaching personnel, alumni,

and other staff, showed Robredo commanding the support of 52.57 percent of respondents, followed by
Marcos with 25.54 percent. In a separate poll of investors and analysts, Robredo emerged as the top
choice, placing Marcos, together with Pacquiao, at the bottom.

Robredo’s spokesperson Barry Gutierrez commented, “With this clear momentum from the people’s
campaign – reflected both in the massive rallies as well as in online metrics – we are confident that the
next 56 days will culminate in an election day victory for Leni Robredo.” Robredo’s campaign team
added that the Pulse Asia poll fails to capture the “game-changing developments” that have taken place
in recent weeks of campaigning

Pulse Asia said that Marcos’ ratings could be attributed to his social media presence. Prof. Dindo Manhit,
founder and managing director of Stratbase ADR Institute, an independent international research
organization, remarked, “Surveys simply tell us what people think at that moment. But the most
important decision happens on election day. This is where seasoned politicians may have an advantage.”

With just under two months left before an election that many are describing as the most important in
modern Philippine history, the Leni-Kiko campaign is now running at a pace that is generating attendees
in the tens of thousands. With Robredo’s campaign clamoring to reclaim democracy, save the country
from dynastic politics, and bring it out of the shadow of Duterte’s authoritarianism, several questions
remain: Will the energy of Robredo’s campaign prove enough to turn a “pink movement” into a “pink
revolution”? Will the last man standing be the race’s lone woman?
 CRITIQUE PAPER

The majority of the article is about Leni Robredo, a

Presidential Candidate for the forthcoming 2022 Election,
and her numerous points and activities while serving as
Vice President, such as doing programs and aiding those
in need, which demonstrate her honesty and admirable
demeanor. The post also highlights her supporters and
compares Leni to other candidates in order to showcase
her strong points, and it is heavily biased in her favor. I
admit that I am biased in favor of Leni, but I support her
because, of all the candidates, she has the most
experience, is the most natural, and understands what
our country lacks. I should also point out that her
propaganda involves a lot about being a woman and
being a mother, which to me is a bit feminist, although
it’s understandable since she is the lone woman running
for president. But we should all remember that what
they show to us in their campaigns does not reflect on
the outcome of the election but the outcome of their
whole term, meaning that if they were ever to win, they
must adhere to it and is not just for show, which is why
the character is also important and I think Leni has that
sincerity and character out of all the candidates.