Speaking for the President

AT HIS BEST HE PULLS A REALLY GOOD JOKE BEFORE THE MALACAÑANG PRESS CORPS AND delivers very quotable quotes. At his worst he sounds like a broken record, answering questions with the same statements over and over again, or simply does not answer calls or text messages.

With his poker face and monotonous voice, some find him too stiff and boring for the job, but others say he fits it to a T.

Press Secretary Ignacio "Toting" Bunye, also spokesperson for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, never seems to lose his cool, even when he was questioned incessantly about whether he would be axed for coming out with the "Hello Garci tapes" last June.

"I took some medication which made me not feel very well, but right now I’m up and about," was his reply when asked why he "disappeared" after making the controversial revelation. "But during that period, I had plenty of time to think about the situation and I have come to a very hard decision and I have prepared and I have signed and I am about to submit my letter of…reimbursement."

He delivers this with a genuinely sad look in his eyes while pulling a piece of white paper from his suit. The verdict among Palace reporters was unanimous: Bunye delivered a good one–amid much laughter.

But there is nothing funny about the man who exudes decorum and breeding, whose worst attack against reporters would be to refuse to tackle issues raised repeatedly during a briefing. A polite and very brief answer to even the most provoking questions would be enough to get even. He simply refuses to oblige with fireworks or a word war that the media may seek for more interesting stories.

"Ang unang mapikon, talo," he tells STARweek. True enough, unlike other Palace officials, he neither turns his back on a reporter asking nasty questions nor asks his undersecretary "to do something" about journalists being too pesky during interviews.

Secretary Bunye admits though to having difficulty handling his job at this time of political turbulence.What makes it doubly hard perhaps is the fact that he is speaking for the President at a time of crisis that the opposition thinks he himself started.

He was the first to identify Mrs. Arroyo’s voice in the recordings, the opposition said, and thus there was no more way out for the President. After all, Secretary Bunye’s admission is as good as hers.

To this day, news keeps circulating that he will get the boot for his own "lapse in judgment". Secretary Bunye would not say whether he was reprimanded for his "exposé" and for allowing members of the Malacañang press corps to listen to the recordings of Mrs. Arroyo’s wiretapped conversations with former Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

"We presented the tapes as they were–attempts by her detractors to undermine the President’s reform program and destabilize the government" is his official reply.

There were rumors that the President smashed a TV set (or maybe his head?) in anger after the issue came out. She is not dubbed "Taray Queen" for nothing, after all.

But despite all that, Secretary Bunye says "I’m still here. I have a job to do and I will just continue discharging it the best way I know how."

Like any other Cabinet member, Secretary Bunye notes that he is not immune to speculation but "I am proud to serve the President during these challenging times," he stresses.

"Don’t worry, it will be good until 2010," he quips, reassuring us that this feature story will still be relevant when it sees print.

Contrary to perceptions that he is out of the loop and cannot speak freely for the President, Secretary Bunye emphasizes that whatever he articulates as her spokesperson "reflects 100 percent" her views on issues.

"That is why it is very important that I am thoroughly familiar with her programs and policies and her stand on specific issues. I attend as many meetings (with various Cabinet clusters) with her. I read briefing papers prepared for her. I read and re-read her policy speeches. I consult with other Cabinet members, especially Executive Secretary (Eduardo) Ermita," Secretary Bunye says. "I look at communications as a team effort. As necessary, I ask her directly on some issues I want to clarify."

Secretary Bunye points out that his relationship with the President is professional. He recalls that he got the job after landing on the shortlist of the President’s search committee.

"One day, I was invited by then Executive Secretary Bert Romulo to his office. Secretary Romulo did not have a difficult time convincing me to join the Cabinet," he says.

Secretary Bunye is very candid about his admiration for his boss and he relates that she has indeed mellowed.

"For the nth time last January, the President said that one of her New Year’s resolution is not to lose her temper, at least in public. The resolution is holding," he observes.

Aside from having a clear vision for the country, the President’s spokesperson believes she possesses the political will to ensure a better quality of life for the average Filipino.

"I articulate not my own but the President’s views and opinions. But I happen to share her vision," he says, being a politician himself. He was Muntinlupa mayor for 12 years and was the first congressman for the city’s lone district.

He also swears the President is dead serious about carrying out her reforms for the country. "I admire her excellent work ethic. She puts in more hours than any one of us."

He does not even think the President needs an image make-over to make her more appealing to the media and the masses.

"The President herself is not very concerned about image," he emphasizes.

The President also need not face the media all the time. "She will do so when it is necessary. The rest can be done by her Cabinet members. That is what we are there for. We are her alter egos," he says.

Secretary Bunye worked as a reporter for radio and newspapers before he joined politics. He finished his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Bachelor of Laws from the Ateneo de Manila and worked in various executive positions at the Ayala Group of companies, including assistant vice president of the Ayala Investment and Development Corporation and the Bank of Philippine Islands.

He became press secretary in July of 2002 and then concurrent spokesperson the following January.

"My normal day starts quite early. I average four phone patch interviews in the morning. So I wake up an hour ahead of the interviews to read my briefing notes and to surf the Internet editions of major newspapers," he relates. "Later in a day, I have the press briefing for the Malacañang press corps. The rest of the day is devoted to attending meetings either with the President or with a Cabinet cluster."

Are the media people hard to handle? As usual, he evades answering the question directly, saying instead, "My rule is to treat others as you would want them to treat you. I try to be accessible and to be even-handed in dealing with the media."

Is he media savvy? "I will let the Malacañang press corps be the judge of that," he snaps.

He does not get to watch himself on television or hear himself on radio after his interviews. "But I get feedback from other people. Most of them are positive," he says, and that may be as far as he goes in terms of bragging.

Image aside, it’s not all work for him, and he does have a life beyond press briefings. He went back to swimming, his college sport, to keep him fit as he could no longer play golf. He sponsored an annual golf fund-raising tournament for his charities when he was Muntinlupa mayor, "but I have not played golf since suffering a slipped disc two years ago."

Some of those close to the secretary bares another talent of his: singing. "I can carry a tune or two but I choose songs that suit my voice range. That was useful when I was campaigning (in Muntinlupa)," he says.

Secretary Bunye promises not to abandon the current administration despite prevailing perceptions in some quarters that it is a sinking ship. He maintains that the President has not violated any law, as some of her detractors would want the people to believe.

"I put a premium on loyalty. And friendship, too. As the saying goes, an ounce of loyalty is better than a pound of cleverness," he points out.

But can she last and weather all the political storms coming her way? "Definitely, she has a mandate from the people and she intends to fulfill that mandate," he says emphatically.

What about him? "As for me, our relationship is professional and is based on mutual trust and confidence. I will be around for as long as my services are needed and for as long as I have something positive to contribute," he says it like a mantra.

"After my stint, I plan to continue writing. I write weekly columns (for various publications). I will definitely have time to write a book on ‘How to Survive the Malacanang Brat Pack’," and he finally gives an easy smile.