Inside Philippine politics & beyond

Very strict media guidelines for covering pork whistleblower Ruby Tuason’s Senate testimony

Share:
LinkedIn0
Pinterest0

By Raïssa Robles

Hmmm. You’d think it was the President of the Philippines testifying.

I’ll skip this one and cover it live on TV, Twitter, Senate Livestream and Facebook.

I can see the goings on better that way.

And to think, as Senator Jinggoy Estrada put it, tagadala lang si Ruby Tuazon ng pangmeryenda ng senador – sandwiches and noodles. Hindi cash.

Pero bakit kaya naka-box ang mga sandwiches at noodles? Hindi ba usually naka-Tupperware ang pagkain?

In any case, I’m sharing you the media guidelines below to show you that covering something like this is definitely no picnic for reporters:

Senate of the Philippines
Pasay City

MEDIA GUIDELINES FOR THE COVERAGE OF THE TESTIMONY OF RUBY TUASON BEFORE THE SENATE BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE HEARING ON FEBRUARY 13

DESIGNATED AREAS FOR MEDIA PERSONNEL

Media representatives are requested to stay at their designated areas in the Plenary Hall during the official proceedings. The Padilla room will serve as Media Room, a working area for TV and radio networks, members of FOCAP and other media personalities. Setting-up of portable/makeshift TV studios is allowed only in the Media Room. All press briefings shall be conducted in this area.

  • Each network shall provide its own personnel to secure its own equipment. Network personnel involved in equipment installation and operation shall wear their IDs at all times.
  • Extra installation shall not be allowed beyond the designated area of the network.

Broadcast media personnel undertaking live coverage, stand-up reporting, and interviews shall be allowed only in the Media Room. INTERVIEWS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE HALLWAYS AND THE PLENARY HALL.

Media personnel must submit their equipment to a security check and secure security tags from the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) at the Security Desk (only for cameramen, photographers and those with other media equipment).

NOTE: Only Senate beat reporters will be allowed to use the Locsin room (Press office). Non-Senate beat reporters may use the Media Room. Media personnel are prohibited in the indoor parking and the 2nd floor hallway area going to the Senate lounge.

COVERAGE OF PLENARY SESSIONS AND COMMITTEE HEARINGS

Please be reminded that media interviews are enjoined not to conduct on the Floor when the Senate Blue Ribbon hearing is in progress. As a rule, absolute silence in the plenary hall must be observed during the hearing so as not to distract the proceedings while it is in progress. Media practitioners may request interviews through the pages assigned at the session hall.

In times when statements from the Senators are urgently needed, the area inside the Session hall right after the entrance and before the audio room may be used for interviews. We highly encourage media practitioners to utilize the Sumulong briefing room located near the plenary hall on the second floor for individual or group interviews.

The Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms is strictly enforcing the observance of plenary hall rules. Non-media violations such as fighting, theft and other unruly behavior will be subject to the rules and regulations to be enforced, in coordination with PRIB, by the OSAA.

Reporters who insist on doing stand-up reporting in the plenary hall while session is ongoing shall not be allowed.

NOTE: Set-up of portable or makeshift studios will not be allowed in the Sumulong room.

SET-UP AND ACCREDITATION SCHEDULE

Raffle of slots and set-up of mini studios for TV networks will start on February 12, 5:00 pm at the Padilla room. Media pass for set-up should be secured from PRIB staff at the Sumulong room.

Pre-accreditation of non-Senate media will start on February 12 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Issuance of pre-accredited one-day media pass for the hearing will start on February 12 4:00 pm. Those with media passes should have their IDs validated on February 13 starting at 7:00 am at the lobby by presenting their company IDs.

Designated parking slots for TV networks are indicated in the attached sketch (parking slot.jpg). Assigned parking slots will be available starting 12:01 am of Thursday, February 13.

DRESS CODE

Please observe proper dress code and decorum at all times. All media personnel including their technical staff will be required to follow the dress code inside the Senate building.

Male personnel are required to wear slacks, pants or suit pants, and short or long sleeved polo shirts. Female personnel are required to wear slacks, pants or suit pants, and collared shirts, blouse or classic sleeveless tops with a cardigan or jacket, or knee-length or below-the-knee casual dresses and skirts. Decent looking jeans will be allowed for both males and females (no rugged looking, ripped or torn jeans).

Footwear such as loafers, clogs, boots, flats, dress heels, and leather deck-type shoes will be allowed. Rubber shoes and slippers are strictly prohibited.

Comments

  2. A very polished gem Ruby didn’t disappoint TV viewers that prompted TG Guingona to describe her testimony a rainbow or 3-point shot. IMHO, it was a grand slam dunk-rainbow shots that could make a score of at least 8 points, as follows: The referee called a flagrant foul on Lebron’s slam dunk and awarded 2 free shots (4points) plus possession of the next play. Lebron made a successful rainbow shot and was fouled again (another 4 points)

    Team Tanda-Sexy-Pogi is way behind and losing steam and their elimination is imminent.

    • Huhu, now watch Jinggoy get charged by the referee for traveling, as the points stack up against the little sawed off, no neck, arrogant bastard, and he attempts to leave the country…sorry, arrogant may not be a suitable adjective as it implies he has some form of intelligence. I wonder how many flights he has already booked to leave the country?

  3. Senator Guingona described the testimony of Ruby Tuason as a 3-point shot. Secretary De Lima said that it is a slam-dunk while Jinggoy classified it as a lay up, both of which shot score two points only.

  4. From my seat watching the TV live…I can honestly say Miss Ruby Tuazon’s body language, eye language and the manner of her testifying…is clear as glass…very credible in substance.

    …nothing in sort of incredible as blurted days ahead by Sen. Jinggoy!

    …witness is direct in her description of the personal event re deliveries of the Pork PDAF money funds to VIP personalities etc.

    …if she continues like this throughout, and repeat this in the courts, I will not cross-examine her on the crucial points. It may bury me deeper into that ‘hole’ she dug, oil might splash unto my face!

    See ‘you later alligators ‘n porkers’! Back to the Senate hearing…to be continued

  8. One cannot start a fire without a spark…gladness to all juan dela cruz and frustration to corrupt officials when the emergence of the whistle blower now blowers he he he he…it was a spark…now sparks….

    Yare kayong mga magnanakaw ng kaban ng bayan he he he…

    Slowly….but surely…little by little, one goes far….this is PNOY…Bravooooo…

  9. Pambihira talaga si Jnggoy. Yung sa DAP idinamay ang kapwa nya na mga senador na tumatanggap ng milyones. Ngayon idinamay na naman ang mga kasamahang senador sa pagkain na idinaan pa ni Ruby sa parking area ng mga senador. Nuong una ay pera ng bayan ang pinagpartihan ng mga senador. Sumunod naman ayon na rin kay Jinggoy ay pagkain na dala ni Ruby ang pinagsaluhan. Ano naman kaya yung ibinigay sa kanya ni Matt? Kaparte rin kaya nya ang ibang senador dito? Paano yung bigay sa kanya ni Pauline?

    • COMPARISON:

      Jinggoy is like a desperate lover abandoned by his beloved on Valentine’s Day

      Enrile is like a nuclear-powered submarine who runs silent but run deep

      Revilla is like a crying 10-year boy who had just lost his Tonka toy

      • If reports are accurate, what prompted RT to sing-like-a-canary is the fact that almost all of her’s and family’s “liquid” assets are now frozen. The report only confirm the earlier report that family pressure also made her decide to come forward and tell the truth. We’ll see today if RT can dampen the seemingly solid confidence of the ‘frustrated lawyer” (now a professional liar)….

        • Kung ito nga ang isa sa dahilan (frozen assets) kaya nagsalita si RT, at tulad nya may kaso din si gigi, di ang assests nya ay frozen din? tama ba ang sapantaha ko?
          At ayaw nya na sumabtan sya ng kanyang mga anak at apo sa mga darating na panahon dahil nasangkot sa isang napakalaking pangdarambong issue.

          Kung ito ay totoo bakit si gigi ay tahimik na tahimik ata? Hindi kaya kahit na frozen ang kayamanan ay marami pa din “nabaon” sa kapaligiran (lokal at internasyonal)? Kaya marami pa sya magagamit kahit na 100 taon pa magtago. Teka nasaan nga ba sya?

          At ang mga anak at apo kaya ay kampante na sa kanilang buhay na walang reaction/say sa mga nangyayari sa bansa nila? Ano kaya ang sinasabi nila sa sarili nila tuwing maiisip na ang ina, lola, tita, ate nila (gigi) ay nakademanda sa malaking pandarambong na kaso????

          Deadma lang? Kasi ang isang katoliko ay hindi papayag na madungisan ang pangalan ng angkan. Hindi bali ng mahirap o salat sa karangyaan basta maipagmamalaki ang pangalan.

          Walang niloko, walang tinapakan, walang ninakaw, walang inargabyado, walang inapi. Kapag sinabi na malinis ang puso ko yun ang totoo.

          Meron pa ba politiko na ganito?

        • @ curveball,

          Frozen pala mga Assets ni Ruby Tuason kaya lumantad at itinuro mga kasabwat sa pagnakaw nang PDAF eh dapat FROZEN din ang mga Assets nang mga Mambabatas na mayroong kasong Plunders etc. para kumanta din mga ito at para maaga natin mabawi ang Perang NINAKAW sa Bayan…

          Magtatanong lang po, Takot ba ang korte (Sandigan bayan at Ombudsman) sa pag FROZEN nang Assets nang mga Mambabatas? Double standard yata ang korte natin, o hayan nagtatanong lang po?

    • IMO, regarding jinggoy: she crossed the rubicon and untie the gordian knot.
      enrile: she forgot to buy litmus paper and do the same test as what she did to jinggoy… wla na daw silang contact ni gigi. based on rt’s revelation, gigi is the one to cross the rubicon & untie the gordian knot if and only if…

      same scenario with atty. jess santos the ex lawyer of mike arroyo.

  11. hi raissa….i have been here “eavesdropping” in your site since the corona impeachment trial…i think you have done a terrific job in information dissemination, particularly in raising the political consciousness of the netizens on some vital issues in governance, human rights and public policies..i have learned a lot just reading the “smorgasbord” of ideas coming in…what a meaningful journey for you and for us CPMers here in your blog…the conversations here are quite compelling that each one of us involved in this journey is always challenged to make a stand and do something concrete in our own little way…thank you raissa and to your hubby, alan. by the way, i read the media guidelines and i think it just simply facilitate the “way of doing things” for media people. And hopefully, it will greatly help the media in making a logical and credible report notwithstanding the ground rules disallowing interviews in the plenary hall and stand-up reporting.

  12. Hmm…

    Will exit doors be locked?

    Hmm…in case of fire or emergency will it be ‘all for one and one for all’?

    Hmm…can interviews be made inside the toilets? Of course! for ‘Lalaki’ male media & ‘Babae’ female media.

    Of course not!

    Hmm…in case of unusual incidents taken by Media will it’s recording disk etc. be confiscated for whatever reason?

    Hmm…why is this ‘Media Guidelines’ resorted to now for Ruby Tuason and not for Corona’s impeachment trial?

    Hmm…who thought and had this approved idea: PNoy, SP or the senators, or all of them above?

    Lastly…HMMM…nothing in this hearing will be hidden, suppressed or withheld from the Media people?

    • Feb 13 will be strict on media coverage at the Senate “no holds barred” hearing…

      But come Feb 14, media may easily cover the motels “no holds barred” meeting!

    • yan ang advantage ng mga male reporters.
      they can follow sources inside the men’s room.
      wonder when they pop the question, though. when the source is all vulnerable with his thing hanging out?
      i always wondered.
      hmmm. i should ask my fellow reporters next time i see them.

      • Nakapaskel sa kanilang men’s room:

        “Mahal na kinatawan,
        Nakasalalay ang kapakanan
        Ng buong sambayanan
        Sa ‘yong pinanghahawakan        “

        • Hah ha hah 2x

          Royal Jewels!

          Dito masasabi kay Tanda, Gringo, Pogi at Sexy, may your tribe decrease or disappear.
          Ummph, kaniya nila – plz. don’t rub it in.

          Speaking of Tanda’s personal guard(s) with a long arm when ever he visits the Loo (as exposed by MDS), IT must be that treasured.

          —

          Slippery When Wet nakapaskel bagu pumasok.

        • @baycass, I submitted a comment, waiting for moderation.

          Hopefully RR will approve.

          You might be interested in reading that info dealing on the whereabouts or status of Marcos’ Gold.

          Medyo mahaba with several links embedded.

        • @Mel, dapat naimbestigahan ang gold ni Marcos. Iyon yong mga gold na nakatago sa Central Bank . Bakit yon napunta sa kanya?

        • @Newark2002, atbp

          Na-approve na iyong entrée (http://raissarobles.com/2014/02/09/stopping-the-marcoses-from-erasing-their-crimes-from-history/comment-page-4/#comment-131600).

          Definitely, although it has been more than 25 years since the founding of the PCGG. Zilch pa rin ukol sa WWII gold (‘treasure’) spoils that the late dictator arrogated for himself and his minions.

          May ‘royalty’ or porsiyento man lang sana ang bansang Pilipinas sa ngayon.

          The Phils’. Gov’t (Treasury, DOF, Office of the President) should look into this revelations coming from Karen Hudes, J.D.

          What if the heirs of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. including their proxies (holders of Special Power of Attorney [SPA] of these gold deposit certificates) are not aware of this agenda – ‘to be used for world humanity‘ by Global Collateral Account of the World Bank – IMF.

          Physical gold is so scarce in the US and Europe that leased or entrusted gold allocations owned by the Germany gov’t can not be repatriated back to Germany from the US. They had to do it in seven years, it couldn’t comply with part delivery for the first year even. [1]

          Global banks might grab or withhold it for themselves, rather than returning it to the Marcoses, or Phils’. gov’t.

        • Parang mahirap paniwalaan yang storya ng “yamashita treasure”. Siguro kinondisyon ni Marcos ang isip ng mga Pilipino para iiwas sa tunay na pangyayari. ‘Yong mga ginto nya, ginto ng Pilipinas. Mayroon akong nakausap na nagkwento kung paano hakutin ng Malacanang noong panahon nya ang mga ginto ng Pilipinas na nasa Central Bank. They shipped those crates of gold to foreign lands in Marcos name. Sana lumabas ang totoong isyu at mabawi nga ng Pilipinas.

  13. Tomorrow’s much-awaited live testimony of socialite Ruby Tuason will be an elaborate and spectacular entertainment whose expected end-result would be the further humiliation of some opposition senators in particular and hopefully the about-to-collapse Upper House of Congress in general.

    The term “Honorable” is no longer applicable when addressed to senators ever since the first batch of plunder case on pork scam was filed on 9/16/13 as a result of meticulous audit by the illustrious Commission on Audit and corroborated by the brave whistle blowers.

    The name “senate” comes from the ancient Roman empire, so called as an assembly of the seniors and thus wiser members of society or ruling class. It is derived from the latin word “Senatus” or old man who is supposed to possess wisdom.

    Tomorrow you’ll see a lot of honorables???

    • …’di ‘karumaldumal’ addressing?

      …better address ’em as ‘pug’ or ‘pigs’!

      …as they haven’t recovered yet that prestige they lost a long time ages.

  14. Oiii Raissa, pupunta Ka?

    Kung OO, makakatanong ka kaya ng mga questions, o observer lang muna?

    Kung OO, o di kaya pupuwede ang close-in questions kung makaka-lusot.

    Kung pupunta, baka makapag CPM cyber-sourcing ng mga ideal questions na pupuwede mong itanong kung sinu man mayruon o mabigyan ka ng oportunidad.

    Mainam kung makapunta kayo ni Alan at makakuha kayo rin ng video ng mga background o ‘behind the scene clips’.

    Salamat

  15. I know most of you CPMers have already come across this “flaming hot” (nagbabaga) news headline. For those who haven’t yet, please see:

    http://www.rappler.com/nation/50306-govt-recovers-marcos-swiss-funds

    The first paragraph proclaims:

    “MANILA, Philippines – The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has remitted P1.3 billion (about $30M) to the national treasury from Ferdinand Marcos’s Swiss accounts.”

    There’s a Youtube video interview, where Imelda Marcos said her husband hadn’t stolen any money, that her husband was a man of peace, etc. Please see:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYgbmdJM9cs

    At 5:16: Imelda; “My father was not impoverished, my father was a doctor of laws…” (This runs counter to what Sterling Seagrave says in his book “The Marcos Dynasty”.

    At 6:01: Imelda: “There is Divine Justice…”

    At 6:47: Imelda: “I look straight at God. And He can strike me dead right now…Marcos was a man of peace…

    At &:45: Imelda: “We haven’t stolen any money…”

    With an obstinate world view like that, how can one argue with her!

    • @fed-up,
      “obstinate”
      yes a very proper word to that family.
      and really fooling a lot of youth nowadays.
      we might wake up one day that ML is back.