The ''Philippines Daily Express'', commonly known as the ''Daily Express'', was a daily newspaper in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It was better known for circulating propagandist news articles related to then-President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

during the time of his regime. Its Sunday edition was known as the ''Philippines Sunday Express''.

History

It was founded on May 9, 1972, by entrepreneur and Marcos crony

Roberto Benedicto Roberto Salas Benedicto (April 17, 1917 – May 15, 2000) was a Filipino lawyer, ambassador, diplomat, and banker historically most remembered as a crony of President Ferdinand Marcos. Benedicto owned Philippine Exchange Company, the '' Phili ...

. The newspaper was re-opened a few days after Marcos declared

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

, wherein most media and newspaper outlets who were critical against the latter were closed and taken over by the military. Benedicto assigned Enrique Romualdez, a relative of first lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...

, as

chief editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's Editing, editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is hel ...

of the paper to ensure that it held the views of the regime. According to Romualdez, he made sure that the ''Philippine Daily Express'' published stories favorable to Ferdinand Marcos. Other newspapers were eventually allowed to operate, though these were closely watched by government

censors Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

. ''Philippine Daily Express,'' on the other hand, was not inspected by censors since it was already controlled by the Marcos administration. Enriquez also said that they were able to practice

self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...

at the ''Philippine Daily Express.'' After the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, which signaled the end of Marcos regime, most of the assets owned by Marcos's cronies were sequestered by the government under Aquino administration, including ''Daily Express''. The newspaper ceased publication in 1987.

References

English-language newspapers published in the Philippines Newspapers established in 1972 National newspapers published in the Philippines Newspapers published in Metro Manila Defunct newspapers published in the Philippines Defunct daily newspapers Daily newspapers published in the Philippines {{Philippines-newspaper-stub

History

See also

References