I had a chance to cover President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in La Union last Sunday. It was one of the rare assignments I would get from from the bureau. Oh well, I got the assignment only because the first person the editors asked to be there could not make it.
As I was told, I should be in San Fernando City at 4 a.m. because the President would be there at exactly 6 a.m. With Cesar Ramirez of the Philippine Star, I drove all the way to La Union using the old Nissan pick up of Aksyon Radyo Pangasinan. We arrived there at about 4:10 a.m. and most of the streets there were already barricaded and manned by policemen, leaving drivers and early morning commuters no choice but to take the detour roads off the main highway.
The first thing I did was to look for a parking space close enough to the venue but easy for us to leave once the coverage is over. I found Jollibee as an ideal place. Then Cesar and I roamed around the city plaza to find where the media will be positioned and to look for personnel from the Philippine Information Agency to ask for accreditation. They were nowhere to be found.
As we sat on the edge of one of the concrete plant boxes adorning the well-lighted city plaza, we could hear old people’s complaints about the street closure. Because for them to reach the church to attend the first mass, they had to have a long walk. Others, who were not going to the church, had to move three or four blocks away to wait for buses or jeepneys to take them where they would want to go.
The President did not arrive as I was told. What we witnessed instead were six busloads of cadets from the Philippine Military Academy, who will give the President arrival and departure honors. Cesar and I were smiling to see those cadets rehearse in their gray jogging pants and sweatshirts. The all looked untidy and harassed and unglamorous in those outfits.
As sunrise came, still, people from the PIA were not around. We were already starving and no fastfood chain or eatery was open at that time. We settled for a scoop of taho for our breakfast.
Then, employees from the different government agencies started to pour in. Apparently, they were all required to be there to be the crowd. The PMA cadets that all vanished like thin air also returned, now in their uniforms, making them look elegant and honorable men.
When PIA personnel finally appeared, we did not get our much-needed accreditation because they said, they have already ran out of the sticker. We were, however, able to get security tags for our recorders and cameras from the Presidential Security Group.
When the President finally arrived, it was already 7:51 a.m. She was in an aqua-green pantsuit and she looked elegant during the arrival honors as she and Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. trooped the line of PMA cadets. I watched in amusement my media colleagues, especially the photographers and cameramen, as they jostled for position everytime the President moved.
After the wreath-laying and departure honors, I sighed with relief, because the coverage is already over. We can finally have our breakfast and return to Dagupan.
Another difficult Presidential coverage.