Not the enemy

By Marifi Jara

Governor Espino should take it from FVR when it comes to handling the press. (Perhaps FVR did whisper some words of advice related to that when he attended Espino’s delivery of his first 100-days report.)

FVR was president when I was a reporter and while I only got the chance to cover him occasionally – having mostly been assigned to the business sectors of telecommunications, water utility, transport and travel beats – exchanges with my contemporaries at that time indicated how well he carried out his relationship with the Malacanang Press Corps.

For one, he was an accessible leader. And accessibility is a demonstration of transparency.

FVR traveled plenty, locally and internationally, during his term and he never went anywhere without media representatives in tow. He made sure that newsmen were there to report to the Filipino people that he was not simply gallivanting but actually walking the beat.

FVR also allowed himself to share light moments with the press. He knew how to draw the boundary between serious matters and the reality that he, then The President, and the mediamen are all human after all.

And to the media’s credit, they respected the concepts of “for the record”, “off the record”, “not for attribution”, and “for background information only” when FVR talked.

Of course not everything that the media reported about FVR’s presidency was rosy. There were attacks. And FVR did lose his temper on some occasions. But mostly he took the punches with composure and dealt with them objectively.

That’s because FVR, who comes down in history as one of the most endearing presidents to the Philippine press, did understand that the media is not his enemy.

FVR grasped the basic concept that the media is an institution, so-called the fourth estate, that has duly recognized rights and responsibilities in the Philippine Constitution.

Journalists, the genuine kind, are bound by a Code of Ethics that compel them to report the truth. Their duty is to their profession and the public in as much as government leaders are duty-bound to serve the public that elected them into office.

A twice a month press conference and making his staff available for comments is not a bad start for forging better relations with Pangasinan’s true-blue journalists. Who knows, Espino, like FVR, could prove to be a governor well-loved by the community press.

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/roots/
Readers may reach columnist at marifijara@gmail.com . For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)

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