A jolly 'Good Time' from the Malacañang Palace Press Corps

Some naughty colleagues in the Malacañang Palace Press Corps treated Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda last Thursday to what is called a “Good Time.” A “Good Time” is exactly the opposite of what should be a good time. When some people treat you to a “Good Time” — it could mean that they’ll make it unusually more difficult for you.

The “Good Time” was focused on the “fine tuning” of Palace Memorandum Circular number 1 (MC #1) which was originally issued last June 30, right after the first President Noynoy Aquino (P-Noy) cabinet meeting in Malacañang Palace. MC #1 had to do with the termination of services of non-career employees and officers in the Executive Branch of the government. 

The superseding MC #1 which Edwin termed “fine tuning” was a lengthier explanation after the original MC #1 was reported to have been misunderstood by many and was causing confusion. However, some members of the Palace Press Corps chose to play up the perception that MC #1 was a case of an Aquino administration blooper on its very first official written act.

To his credit, Edwin stood his ground and did not accept the assertion that MC #1 was a blooper. Eventually, the media reporting of the “fine tuning” was not as severe as it sounded when the Palace Press Corps was pressing the issue.

After watching that Thursday press conference on TV, I immediately sent a text message to Edwin. I reminded him about my advice when he was named Presidential Spokesman. I had counseled Edwin that being a presidential campaign spokesman is much easier than being a Presidential Spokesman. It is like comparing a street gang encounter with that of a major battle in a World War.

In a presidential campaign, there are many candidates whom media cover and thus there is very little attention media can allot for each candidate. Many blunders could go unnoticed during a presidential campaign and not even land in a print publication or get announced in a radio or TV newscast.

This not the same situation when it comes to covering the president of the country. The president is the most important position in the land and the president affects many people in many different ways. Anything the president does or says will somehow impact on people. A one-liner from the president could well become the banner headline of the major dailies the next day.

A superseding memo issued by any other public office in the land may not even deserve media attention but such is not the case when it comes to the Office of the President, especially when it so happens to be the very first official written act of a new president. The flak MC #1 was subjected to can be considered as par for the course. It would have been more surprising if there had been no flak at all.

During the administration of our beloved late president Cory C. Aquino, I served in three different capacities. The one position I would never ever consider taking is that of Press Secretary. The position of Press Secretary is nothing more than being a fireman because most of the time you do nothing but put out fires. It is a tense job and you’ll dread where and when the next big fire will come. Believe me, it is just a matter of time when the “fireman” will eventually get burned.

With my background and if I was then allowed the option by President Cory to choose which cabinet post I would rather take — hands down, it would have been Tourism instead of Press Secretary. The prospect of generating more tourists to visit our shores is certainly much more palatable and fulfilling than a job of putting out fires.

The job of Press Secretary (or what will soon become Communications Director in order to conform to the new media realities) requires more than just being respected and accepted by media. In fact, being respected and accepted by media is the easiest qualification requirement to hurdle.

More than a good reputation and acceptability to media, the greater requirement or qualification standard a Press Secretary must meet is the ability to:

1. Strategize the messaging.

2. Manage the capabilities of the Office of the Press Secretary — its delivery system which is composed of the PIA (Philippine Information Agency), Broadcast Networks and so forth.

3. Grasp the political ramifications of every presidential act and pronouncement.

4. Minimize if not neutralize the projected negative reaction a presidential act or pronouncement will reap.

5. Maximize the positive impact of a presidential act or pronouncement.

6. Maintain a harmonious relationship with media — something best accomplished by treating all media in like manner.

It is hard enough to find a person who knows his media ABCs. It is even tougher to find one of the very few who know both their media ABCs and the political realities in this country. Every presidential act or pronouncement cannot help but be political. Each one will affect people, sectors, power blocks and so forth in a positive or negative way.

A politically naïve Presidential Media Team can sink a presidency faster than that iceberg which sank the Titanic. A politically naïve Presidential Media Team can sink a presidency faster than crooked Secretaries in the other departments.

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Chair Wrecker e-mail and website: [email protected] and www.chairwrecker.com