Inside Philippine politics & beyond

Journalists banned from live reporting Duterte’s swearing-in ceremony as president

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By Raïssa Robles

I’d like to share with you all a piece I just did for South China Morning Post (HK) on the fact that no independent media will be covering live one of the most important events in Philippine history – the swearing in of the 16th President of the Republic.

Nor will the general public be present.

Journalists banned from live reporting Duterte’s swearing-in ceremony as president

Cameras from state television will provide live footage from Thursday’s inauguration at Malacañang Palace because there is not enough room for media

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 28 June, 2016, 7:24pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 28 June, 2016, 7:45pm

RAISSA ROBLES

Rodrigo Duterte has banned all media from covering his presidential inauguration live Thursday – a first in the Philippines’ recent history and one that journalists feared would signal restrictions on freedom of information.

The general public has also not been invited for the first time to personally witness the oath-taking of a new president since democracy was restored in 1986.

Instead, all 14 cameras scattered inside Malacañang Palace’s Heroes Hall for the swearing in will be manned by state television PTV4. Broadcasters will pick up the feed, which will also be live-streamed by the social networking site Facebook, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar confirmed to the South China Morning Post.

Normally the grand scale event is open to the public and media in Rizal Park, in central Manila.
Andanar said he was able to negotiate with the organising committee that accredited television media would be permitted to use the palace lawn for piece-to-camera footage, instead of outside the palace gates. The rest of media will be corralled in two separate palace buildings far from the event and will watch ceremonies unfold on large screens.

Duterte’s relations with the media sank when, during a June 5 press conference, he was grilled about wolf-whistling a female journalist and he issued controversial statements on media killings. After that, Duterte announced he would not give interviews until the end of his term.

Andanar, a former broadcast journalist, called the strained relations a mere “tampuhan” or misunderstanding. “Let’s wait and it will go back to normal,” he said.

“Just like any relationship, I believe it undergoes a process of healing. I think the direction is a very vibrant media relationship between the president and the commercial media.”

To read the rest, please click on this link.

 

Due to space constraints, I was not able to include the following points which Andanar told me. He said the plan to make PTV4 an “independent media with an independent editorial staff” is on track. “In fact, I have already talked to the Australian Embassy. They are already organizing a retraining and retooling by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which was patterned after the BBC.”

Asked what “independent” means, he said, “it’s supposed to be independent already. It should be producing its own newscast with independent editorial content. He also said there were other contenders for the post of head of PTV4.

Could the content of PTV4 be critical of the president? I asked Andanar.

He replied that making the station independent is “going to be a long process but we will work hard.”

I also asked Andanar whether the relations between President Duterte and the media would be some kind of cariño brutal.

He laughed and said he wasn’t saying that. He added: “My job is to make sure everything becomes smooth after June 30.

He said he had already “dialogued” with the Malacanang press corps on how to cover the president. No, he had not talked with FOCAP (Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

“There are certain requests from FOCAP,” he said.

I expressed curiosity whether Duterte would face FOCAP, as all presidents have done starting with Ferdinand Marcos.

“I’m sure he will,” Andanar replied.

“You think so?” the skeptic in me asked.

“I’m sure he will,” Andanar said.

To Andanar, “media” is ot confined to what he calls “commercial media”. Media also includes the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, which he said had “already reached out. I already talked to them this morning.” He added that he had also talked earlier to Google and YouTube. He said these would be among the media platforms the Duterte government would be using.

From my interview with Andanar, I now know why he was chosen to deal with the media. He has a way with words, the way Francisco “Kit” Tatad and the late Cerge Remonde did.

Comments

  1. Not all journalists will be banned from the Palace. I know Wilson Lee Flores of Phil Star will be there. I agree it will be selective. Those who were unfair to him during campaign period won’t be there.

  2. The NEW BATTLEGROUND in the next 6 years, is really the social media. Even before Duterte dis-allowed media interviews and coverage, most of the people were already relying on social media (FB, instagram, tweeter, texting, etc) for sourcing, sharing information and mobilizing support (pre-election and election campaigns). Duterte knows this very well because his organization used social media very effectively to win. But he might be forgetting the other side of the fence – those who did not vote for him, those who detest him, and those who were at EDSA 1 CAN ALSO EASILY MOBILIZE A FORCE THAT WOULD TOPPLE THIS BUDDING DICTATOR BY USING SOCIAL MEDIA.

    Even if Duterte sanitizes the news, THE STINK will come out through the social media. People nowadays really look at other sources, than mainstream media, for getting the real news. Duterte insiders, themselves, can be the source of leaks thru innocent tweets and updates to their social friends, which can be picked up easily and broadcast to the netizens. Examples – Look at this Mocha girl thing. Look at the Duterte lady supporter who was gunned down (mistakenly?) by DDS in Nueva Eciaj, and how her friend reacted in her FB account. The news came directly from the horses’ mouths. Not thru mainstream media.

    We readers of your blogs and other progressive blogs (Joeam’s) will continue to be glued to your reporting and to the other sources such as The Silent Majority. If we got mobilized during EDSA 1 thru Radyo Veritas and Radio Bandido, there are plenty more like these two – MILLIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USERS sharing and texting. Isang text o tweet lang, aarangkada na ang malawakang protesta sa pasalin saling balitaan.

  3. BBM finally submitted his election protest with the SC against Leni at 4pm today (Abs-Cbn)

    The 1200-page petition delved into 3 main issues, mainly the weaknesses in the automated election system, the traditional election abuses (vote-buying, ballot switching,etc) and smartmatic’s alteration of a script in the transparency server.

    Later in the news, he said he’ll demand a recount on 27 provinces/cities

    The Presidential Electoral Tribunal is composed of all the members of the SC with the CJ as chairperson and must decide on the protest within 12 months from filing (Batas Pambansa 884)

  4. In terms of ‘way with words’, Cerge Remonde was really good. With Martin Andanar’s definition of MEDIA, the ‘best’ is yet to come.

  5. Hi Raissa, I used to hate you for criticizing the incoming president and I support Duterte. But as I continuously read, you make sense and I think there is a need to challenge the incoming administration.

    But can you please enlighten me, what is wrong with PTV 4 exclusively covering the event? You will get its live feed anyway. Its not like, it will be cut in some instances to hide anything right? and it is live.
    The problem is kapag may madaming media nasa loob, every action, face reaction, smirking, smiling will be given meaning to spark controversies.

    I believe Duterte has a point when he said that media has slant words and action thus making it look bad to audiences. I have personally observed this from many “respectable” media kuno. Not everyone’s approach to Journalism is like yours.

    • Hi Jonathan,

      The “live” feed you will get is the result of an editor from PTV4 and possibly someone else deciding what you should see in the live feed.

      You see, when there is an event and you have multi-cameras, each camera is made to focus on someone. The editor can decide which focus wiill be shown “live” on TV. The camera men manning the 14 cameras can also be told where to focus and where NOT to focus. So in this way, what you see is being edited.

      For instance, there could be a directive for the cameras NOT to focus on the two women in Duterte’s life. Or on the Marcoses. So you will not see too much of them.

      YOu said, “The problem is kapag may madaming media nasa loob, every action, face reaction, smirking, smiling will be given meaning to spark controversies.”

      So it’s up to the persons being shown on camera to explain why they were smirking or smiling. when you say that, you are already editing or in this case, censoring, what the public will see.

      In your last paragraph, you said – believe Duterte has a point when he said that media has slant words and action thus making it look bad to audiences. I have personally observed this from many “respectable” media kuno. Not everyone’s approach to Journalism is like yours.”

      Duterte was complaining about the “slant” of the media. Are you referring to what he told Mocha Uson in his second interview?

      What Duterte calls a “slant”, we call an “angle”. Every good story has an angle that the writer or editor or both believe that readers would latch on. Sometimes, the angle is sensationalized. True.

      But what Duterte failed to tell Mocha Uson was that he doesn’t mind it if the angle of the reporter puts him in a favorable light. He only goes ballistic if the angle makes him look bad.

      Duterte himself knows a lot about angles. That is why he exaggerated his promises and was hyperbolic in his language during the campaign, knowing that his “angle” would be picked up by media.

      Duterte is not the only president to complain against media. But he is the first to curse media and tell media he would not care if some of use are killed for being corrupt.

  6. The only plus here for Digong right now is that the public are willing to give him the “emergency power” to achieve what he has promise to do – to silence criminals, to stop corruptions. And perhaps, for some “pa-epal” members of mass media who don’t know how to appreciate joke and separate it from serious matter, “carino brutal” !!

  7. What is he so afraid of? That the media will call him out again when he does/says something ignoble again? If Digong were the least bit aware and sensitive to the victims of Martial Law, a number of whom are still alive, he would have understood that his actions echo back to Marcos’s evil regime.

    • imho, are the marcoses the unseen hands pulling the strings on the puppet presdut?

      is this to unite the people of the whole country by: having a separate inauguration from his vp, he has the marcoses while her vp has the roxas/es.

      i can see we will have the people of the presdut republic vs people of the republic of the phil.

  9. BS Aquino’s last #Noynoying Act would be not to declare the inauguration tomorrow as special non-working holiday :-)

    • I think that was Duterte’s call.

      It was he who decided that it was not going to be a non-working holiday.

      I think you should get your facts straight and not let your biases fondle the data.

  10. And didn’t Duterte say he will prioritize freedom of information? Oh well. It seems like out of 100 things that he said, he doesn’t mean 110 of them.

    • Most of those who hate the incoming president has a convoluted understanding of his intentions.

      If I understand it correctly, other media organizations are not allowed to be physically present in the venue. but what’s stopping them from airing live their commentaries based on the live feed provided (even facebook will air it live, i think).

      Must be to avoid the current media orgs from splicing/editing/whatever to suit their sensationalized way of reporting?

      Tomorrow, what we see live on other venue will be what it is… minus the talking heads :-)

      • No, you’re mistaken.

        It’s “all” media organizations.

        When I say “live”, I mean being physically present at the venue itself.

        do you find that hard to understand?

        you say, what you will see would be minus the talking heads.

        you will also see only what the Duterte government wants you to see.

        whereas before you had a choice. you could beam on state tv or on a commercial channel and you would be seeing different things.

        • ‘When I say “live”, I mean being pysically’ . . . alive!

          Duterte is saying . . . ‘I will kill you. . . ‘

          ‘Bato’ to cops: I will kill you, too, if…’

          Leonardo de Caprio also says to Tom Hanks . . . ‘Kill me if you can. . . ‘

          and God said ‘Thou shalt not kill. ‘

          he he he

        • @leona dahil sa “i will kill you” phil. national one liner. pati ang pinagbidahan nina leonardo at tom hawks ay nakikipag uso na din. o baka part II ng kanilang “catch me if you can” he he he

          kaya lang hindi nahuli kaya papaano iyan magiging “kill me if you can”

        • There are live feeds. but no live reporting from independent media.

          Everyone will see only what PTV4 wants you to see.

        • “Everyone will see only what PTV4 wants you to see.” correct me if i’m wrong, mula bukas mayroon ng MARTIAL LAW sa ating media. isa ba ito sa mga unknown na lulundagan ng buong bansa?

    • Duterte doesn’t honor his statements. Words, apparently, don’t matter to him. So much the pity.

  11. Charie Villa willbe the News Head for PTV4 (philippinenewsnowdotcom).

    I hope they will give weight on development communication.

  12. The Thursday event starts like the first day of occupancy of a Lessee of the Palace residence for the next 6 years.

    Like any other normal lease or renting, the Landlord as owner puts many. . . the ‘Terms & Conditions’ on the lease agreement.

    In Thursday’s event, the leased premises, that is at the Palace of the President of the Republic, the Landlord. . . that is -the people or part of the people as the owners/Landlord it is now the Lessee who provides the ‘Terms & Conditions’ of the lease agreement, one which is that –

    . . . the Landlord or owner cannot be present inside the lease premises on the first day of occupancy.

    How about other days? No more visiting by the Landlord as owner to check the leased premises?

    Normally, owners of leased premises sends their representative to check the leased premises. Who could be the representative? The MEDIA?

    Answer: No landlord or representative can make visits to check the leased premises. Why? Because at the start there is a sick relationship between the Landlord and the Lessee.

    It need to have a healing. Because one of the parties to the agreement, I don’t know who, is sick with
    tamphuhanitis.

    Aha. . . o.k. Btw, the lease’s consideration or lease price is Gratis et amore. . . free for 6 years.

    N.B. . . . next time na lang landlord and be alert for no more gratis et amore.

    . . . phewwww!

    • The situation of Duterte acting like he owns
      Presidential media is tempting for some soldiers to take it back and give it to the people who really owns it. Last time it happened Bongbong and Family had to leave hastily for Hawaii. Would Duterte not have learned the lesson his idol, Bobong Dad, suffered through. Hehe he , tempting the fates?

      • EDSA 1 did an action Marcos. . . ejectment case (always about lease agreement) by landlord.

        . . . that action, under our rules on procedure is SUMMARY in nature. . . bilis! [kuno]

        tsk tsk tsk

    • “the Landlord. . . that is -the people or part of the people as the owners/Landlord”

      Kung ikaw umuupa, at bago mo pa inupahan ang isang lugar/establishment ay alam mo na may pasaway/sakit sa ulo na member ng pamilya, di mo ba pwede sabihin na “welcome po kayo pumasok anytime, maliban lang kay tarpulano na may galit yata sa akin”

      i’m sure gagawin mo din yan, wag tayong ipokrito/ipokrita.

      • Tama ka [siguro] lalo na kung may galit . . . si Tarpulano [member ng pamilya ng landlord] ‘yata sa akin.’

        May ‘galit’ ba? Sabi ng tao-taohan ng lessee may ‘tampuhan’ . . . sino? Kaya ‘healing’ muna kasi lahat ng MEDIA nag tampu?

        aha! O.K. Puera bisita sila lahat.

        he

  13. GMA on the last few years of term did not give media interview.

    With PNoy media were pampered with openness. Change unwanted.

    Du30 is cordoned by own staff because when he talks, it’s a disaster.

    If he were a typhoon, he is dangerous like Ondoy, so his staff prevents disaster similar to Yolanda precautionary measures.

    • Similar to “cordon sanitaire” to sanitize the durian-like v-g-n-a odor that “The Punisher” oftentimes carelessly utters

  15. They are conveying an early message if not warning to all media practitioners. They will be feed with news all sanitized and all favorable to the present dispensation.

    • ‘sanitized’ and ‘all favorable’ to the incoming dispensation. . . tomorrow na.

      . . . sa Julyo Uno thereafter. . . Media reports:. . . everything is clean and gleam! Perfect! Nothing disfavorable!

      Result? – there will be instead RUMOR-MONGERING at the TAILS of all news reports . . . compliments from from media!

      – a tiangge palengke of free press nga [ acc to Constitution and jurisprudence] happens.

      he he he