By Eva C. Visperas

 

DO you know how hard it is to cover the President?

Having been in the media for 36 years, I have covered seven presidents during their visits to Pangasinan: Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Arroyo, Noynoy Aquino, Rodrigo Duterte, and now Bongbong Marcos.

Let’s take a look at the latest presidential coverage for President Marcos Jr.’s visit to Lingayen last July 19 held at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center. He came to distribute aid to Pangasinan farmers and fisherfolk affected by El Niño, specifically to present agrarian debt condonation certificates to 3,558 farmer beneficiaries in the Ilocos Region.

Of course, Pangasinan received the lion’s share of the aid, being the province with the largest land area and population in Region 1.

A day before the actual visit, we were informed by the Philippine Information Agency in Pangasinan that Malacañang’s Media Accreditation and Relations Office would conduct a media briefing and accreditation for those who would be covering the President.

So, amidst bad weather, we braved the heavy rains to get that precious accreditation pass. Understanding security protocols, we obliged.

Unlike previous presidential media coverages, there were no briefings held a day prior to the big event. The PIA would just give us our media pass on the day itself, right at the venue.

“Refrain from using big bags as these would consume more time at the security check,” an undersecretary told us at the briefing.

We had to leave our laptop bags at the Provincial Information and Media Relations Office before heading to the Narciso Gym. It was a drop-and-go only for attendees to minimize traffic congestion.

There, we composed our news articles using our cell phones to meet deadlines. Writing a 700-word story on a cell phone is challenging. That’s how it is in the media when a laptop isn’t available—pressure, stress, and a lot of sweating are part of the game. We ate in our seats as we were asked to be at the venue by 10:30 a.m. The President was to arrive at 2:30 p.m.

A lot of VIPs were present: congressmen, governors, vice governors of Region 1, Pangasinan board members, mayors, vice mayors, some secretaries, undersecretaries, regional directors, and many PNP officers in and outside the area.

Governor Ramon Guico III’s speech was simple, perfect for welcoming a visiting president. But Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrad Estrella III’s speech was rather lengthy, much longer than the President’s. I can’t blame him. The agrarian debt condonation certificates distributed by the President was the main highlight of the occasion.

Out of the total beneficiaries, 3,161 are from Pangasinan, 246 from Ilocos Norte, 34 from Ilocos Sur, and 117 from La Union. So being a Pangasinense himself, Sec. Conrad was over the moon at that moment.

The provincial government’s hosting was a huge success. There was a big crowd, all seats taken, and everyone was excited to see and hear the President talk to Pangasinenses and his fellow Ilocanos from the region. It was his first visit after being elected president in May 2022.

We doubted about his arrival as scheduled because his prior event in Ilocos Norte was moved to the following day due to bad weather. Thankfully, he arrived just an hour late.

We had covered him during the election campaign, and the atmosphere then was more relaxed. Now that he is president, we could hardly go near him and had to be content with our “selfie photos” from four or five meters away. What an effort!

It’s good to see a president going down to the grassroots level, mingling with ordinary people like farmers, fisherfolk, and their families, even if only once in a while, to ask them about the real situation on the ground.

It’s also a pity when you see the top leader only during calamities.

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