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Daneca Mary Joy Alegria, Ateneo de Davao University, PhilippinesAbstract
This study employed Martin and White’s (2005) Appraisal Theory, focusing on the Attitude subsystem of Affect, Appreciation, and Judgement to examine the evaluative online comments of Filipinos towards the anomalous flood control projects. The data for the study consist of 150 public Facebook comments, which were selected using purposive sampling and subjected to qualitative descriptive analysis. Each comment was manually coded, tabulated according to frequency distribution, and contextualized for in-depth analysis. The results showed that Negative Judgments dominated the comments, particularly the Negative Judgment of Propriety, followed by Negative Judgments of Capacity, Veracity, and Tenacity. The analysis of online comments revealed that citizens are greatly outraged by the failure of the allegedly involved officials, agencies, and private contractors to meet the ethical and legal expectations of good and honest governance. A comparatively smaller number of comments showed Negative Affect and Appreciation, which displayed the citizens’ emotional distress and dissatisfaction with the flood control initiatives. The study also showed nuances, as some of the captured comments expressed positive Judgment and sarcasm in Appreciation, demonstrating the complexity of the opinions of the citizens. Taken together, the findings underscore how citizens predominantly utilized evaluative language online as a form of public pushback against corruption and how social media served as an accountability channel for Filipinos.
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