Friday, July 08, 2005

what lies beneath the surface?

scene 1: malacanang where cabinet members hold a presscon; cut to hotel rembrandt where admin congressmen also hold their own presscon
script: "we express our full support for the presidency of gloria macapagal-arroyo."

you gotta hand it to the pgma loyalists for sticking it out with her despite the increasingly deafening calls for her to resign. but i'm still hesitant to give them a salute for standing by the president despite the pressures to jump ship. why? because we can't ignore the possibility that they are merely protecting their own interests or they have other motivations for doing so. the motivations of some are very clear - chiz escudero raised it in one of the wiretap hearings. (if you didn't catch it, you won't get it from me.)

scene 2: kalayaan hall grounds in malacanang where media people are staking out; presidential "hagads" getting ready to move

our cameramen and photographers line up to take shots of the "hagads". but as more media people appear outside the kalayaan hall, the hagads make a u-turn and retreat behind the gates just outside the presidential residence. so we move to gate 2, near freedom park.

after several minutes of trying to steal footages thru the closed gates, the presidential convoy starts to move. my boss calls me - a usec confirms the president has left the palace to attend a lakas meeting in quezon city. we follow the convoy. several lakas stalwarts like fvr and jdv and other lakas congressmen join the convoy. media vehicles, as usual, are relegated to the tail end. our vehicles stop just outside the philippine heart center. the presidential car has stopped right at the sulo hotel entrance. what else is there for us to do but run and try to catch the president while she's still at the lobby. so we run. my 2-inch heel sandals slow me down a bit. (my assignment for the day didn't include covering the president. it was a last minute thing. and having been taken out of malacanang in january to do special reports - a move up, if you ask any reporter - i thought the days of literally running after the president was already buried in my past.)

i get to the hotel lobby while the president is greeting the guests in the dining area. i push my way thru the psg's and other guests, all the while holding my phone to my ear, ready to report live via phonepatch. ivan mayrina intros my report as we make our way to one of the rooms in the basement where the lakas meeting is to be held. still panting, haven't caught my breath yet. i report in between gasps for air.

pgma goes to the front, with fvr and jdv beside her. they do a thumbs up. cameras roll. other lakas members are called for another photo opportunity. these are the same people that visited her in the palace a few minutes before. and these are basically the same scenes. then in less than a minute, the president is out of the room. end of coverage.

we follow the convoy. it goes round the quezon city circle. hmmm... where are the blinkers? no blinkers, no psg vehicles. we find out too late that we've been following a decoy.

we try to make our way to edsa... then to quezon avenue... then to araneta avenue... all the while, cutting in front of other vehicles and ignoring traffic signs just to catch up with the presidential convoy. 15 minutes away from malacanang, we find out that the president is already inside the palace. no use in continuing on. we turn back and head for the office.

so ends another fat-reducing, dehydrating, headache-inducing, potentially dangerous and stressful coverage of the president. we sacrifice life, limb and equipment. for what? for a one-minute photo opportunity of the president doing fvr's signature thumbs up just so she could show the country that all is well - on the surface.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

tina,
all your efforts do not go unnoticed. there is a vast majority of us who rely on all of your reports. jove, mlq3, pcij and you have provided us scoops and insights into this story we can only dream about. keep up the good work.

grabe si gma....i didn't think she would take us down this path, truly dissapointing.

Dr. Emer said...

So, Tina, chasing the President can be healthy pala?
The ultimate program in weight reduction? 'Just kidding.
We appreciate the efforts you, Jove, and the others give
in order to provide us with backdoor stories we never will
catch on tv or the dailies.

Konting tiis. Malapit na yan. ;)

Anonymous said...

may similarity itong nangyayari kay GMA ngayun at kay Erap nuon kung iyong titignan.Ang napansin ko lang na ayaw talaga ng middle class kuno kay Erap pati simbahan at si Cory nagbigay na rin pahayag for Gma to resign pero nuong una pinagsabihan pa niya si Susan to forgive and move on nakakatawa siya ngayun ang gusto ng mga tao magresign si GMA dahil ano marami siyang narisib na negative feedback?kaya baligtad na rin siya?at bakit ganun na lang ang suporta ni FVR kay Gma "personal interest"because of PEA-Amari Deal?na napunta na sa kangkungan tingin ko lang din sa mga pangyayari ngayun wala rin silang pinagkaiba kay Marcos ginagamit lang nila ang salitang demokrasya pero unang-una rin sila sa pagpapahirap kay Juan Dela Cruz!at sana kung matuloy nga ang magpalit ng pangulo ng bansa ito na ang maging huli para sa pagbabago alang-alang sa taong bayan sobra na ang kahirapan dinaranas at hindi na naman muling mauwi sa wala ang lahat.
GOD BLESS PHILIPPINES!

BERNADETTE said...

clap clap clap.

tina, wa kez ma-say . . . . talent itu!

panalo ang eksena behind the scenes. who needs TV?

hayniwey, buti na lang you are not in my shoes . . or else you would be 3 inches more frustrated while chasing the president. echoz!

Overratedbitch said...

Hayan, you've been PUNK'd by the PSG!

Kailangan talaga nating i-emphasize na two-inch ang tiil natin anez?!!? Hay, mag claim ka ng temporary disability sa SSS at sa GMA.

Don't worry, we're always cheering you on!

tinapa said...

hay naku mga mare, palibhasa ang presidente, kahit naka-4-inch stilleto, di naman tumatakbo. mantakin mo, 4-inch na, mas matangkad pa rin si justine espina.
pero true na mas interesting ang mga nangyayari behind the scenes. ito ang mga pinag-uusapan kapag nagkukumpulan ang mga reporter.
jove, di na talaga ako sanay kasi hiningal ako e. naalis ko na sa sistema ang pagtatakbo pahabol sa pangulo. pero di ba nung eleksiyon, kahit gano kahaba ang takbuhan at kahit ilang beses tayong magtatakbo sa isang araw, keri! may bitbit pa tayong mic, notebook, cellphone, minsan bagelya. wa hingal, suba pa after!
salamat din sa ibang nag-comment. at least alam kong sulit ang hingal at matinding sakit ng ulo at katawan after.

john marzan said...

because we can't ignore the possibility that they are merely protecting their own interests or they have other motivations for doing so. the motivations of some are very clear - chiz escudero raised it in one of the wiretap hearings. (if you didn't catch it, you won't get it from me.)

come on tina, sirit na kami. ano ba yung "other motivations" na yan?

tinapa said...

jove, mas matanda ka naman sa kin di hamak. hahaha!
alam mo, basta trabaho na natin ang pinag-uusapan, neutral, balanse sa lahat ng oras. oo nga pala. nakalimutan kong i-blog ang nakakainis na text na natanggap ko kay saludo. i shall do that in a while.
at di ko alam bakit si fvr ang binabansagang kingmaker? alam naman natin kung sinu-sino ang mga totoong kingmakers di ba? ang problema lang, mukhang nakakalimutan din ng mga made kings already. agree? spin-a-win! (shit, diyan lumabas ang edad ko.)