Media Framing of Disaster Responses in the Philippines

Abstract

This study examines how selected Philippine online news outlets, such as ABS-CBN, GMA, and Rappler, present government responses to natural disasters. It uses content analysis and draws on media framing to examine how the government and disaster-affected people are portrayed in news stories about disaster events. The study focuses on three areas: the patterns of government response, the types of frames and tones used in the coverage, and the sources cited in the stories. A total of 60 online news articles were analyzed, covering four major natural disasters between 2014 and 2020. The findings show that government actions reported in the news mostly fall within the preparedness and response stages of disaster management. It was also found that the most common frame is the attribution of responsibility. In terms of tone, local government actions are generally reported in a positive way, while national government actions are often framed as inadequate or slow. This difference reflects how proximity and visibility influence the portrayal of leadership during disasters. The analysis also shows that the news reports rely heavily on official voices such as government leaders, professionals, and representatives of non-government organizations. Voices of affected residents, local communities, and ordinary citizens are largely absent. This pattern suggests that media coverage tends to present disasters from a top-down perspective. The examination of these framing practices also contributes to ongoing discussions about media and governance in the Philippines, especially on how news reporting shapes public understanding of government actions during times of crisis. Through this analysis, the study also contributes to the sociology of disaster by demonstrating how disaster reporting in the Philippines reflects underlying political dynamics.