This article is a preliminary examination of how Southeast Asian media frame the regional integration of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a news topic. Without grassroots engagement, the ASEAN integration will inevitably fall short of its grand objectives, and crucial to building grassroots engagement is media coverage capable of building audience interest and appreciation. Based on articles published during the major ASEAN summit events in 2018, the authors identified resonant themes in the reportage and discussed these vis-à-vis the documented character of the different media environments in the region. It was found that the axis of the reportage is the declarations and actions of the heads of state, with very few human interest and context-building stories that would have built audience engagement in what is otherwise an affair revolving around 'men in suits'. Moreover, the journalistic emphasis on consensus and state initiatives reflects continuing adherence to the tenets of the development journalism framework, but this can also be interpreted as the dominance of 'prominence' as a news value (i.e. stories are framed according to the gestures of prominent individuals). These findings call attention to the need for re-thinking reportage on potentially high-stake phenomena such as the ASEAN integration.

Although recognized as illegal, prostitution in Olongapo is widely practiced, even actively backed by the state. Euphemisms related to sex trade activities and personas such as guest relations officers, entertainers, clients, and managers were employed as cloaks to legitimize its operation. Bars, massage parlors, street solicitations, and private escort services are among the few settings that sustain the sex industry. The historical, political, and economic dimensions of prostitution have been widely researched; however, there remains a dearth of social inquiry pertaining to the sociocultural dimension of the trade, specifically the social construction of rights afforded to the women by those involved in the industry. Underpinned by constructivism theory, this article explores the constructs of the social actors in the prostitution sector pertaining to the rights of prostituted women. It asserts that reality is consistently being shaped through the making, sharing, and reciprocation of a construct system among the social actors in a series of definitive events. The article juxtaposes these constructs with the policies and laws and examines how these translate to social structures and materialization of rights. Findings reveal that the laws and policies on prostitution are largely dissociated from the construct system of the prostituted women. The material conditions in Olongapo, combined with the punitive nature of these ordinances, legitimize exclusion, enable sexual predation, sustain sex buying, stifle the materialization of the rights of prostituted women, and deprive them of legal remedies. A comprehensive and extensive evaluation of the said laws based on the construct system of prostituted women and active involvement of prostituted women in crafting new measures are highly recommended.