Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

Philippine News Agency

Philippine state media

Owned byPhilippine national government; operated under the News and Information Bureau (NIB), which falls under the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) of the Office of the President
FundingFunded entirely by the Philippine national government budget; the agency's 2020 appropriation was approximately PHP 120 million (roughly USD 2.5 million), with over 90% from state appropriations
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

PNA was established on March 1, 1973, by President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. via a Special Department Order, replacing the privately run Philippine News Service (PNS), a news-gathering cooperative formed in 1950 by major Philippine newspaper publishers. From its founding, PNA operated as an instrument of the Marcos dictatorship's information apparatus. After the restoration of democracy in 1986, PNA continued as the government's official wire service, reorganized under successive presidential communications offices. It has remained fully state-funded and has never been privatized or granted formal editorial independence. The agency has been repeatedly criticized by Philippine media watchdogs, including the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), for publishing unverified or partisan content that favors the sitting administration. A notable 2017 incident involved PNA publishing a false claim that 95 UN Human Rights Council members were satisfied there were no extrajudicial killings in the Philippines; the story was quietly replaced without correction or apology. Under the Marcos Jr. administration (since 2022), PNA's coverage has consistently emphasized government achievements and official narratives. Because the Philippines maintains a close security and diplomatic alliance with the United States — including under the Trump administration's second term — PNA's coverage of U.S.-Philippine relations tends to be cooperative and non-adversarial in tone.

Sources

  1. Philippine News Agency – Wikipedia
  2. About the Agency – Philippine News Agency
  3. Philippine News Agency (PNA) – State Media Monitor
  4. 'Spoiled and Rotten Information': Debunking PNA's Fake News – CMFR
  5. VERA FILES FACT CHECK: PNA replaces its fake news that 95 states are convinced there are no EJKs
  6. About PNA – News and Information Bureau
  7. Philippine News Agency – Bias and Reliability (Biasly)
  8. The Philippines: Background and U.S. Relations – Congressional Research Service (March 2026)

Profile compiled 2026-08-07; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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