CEBU, Philippines - At least 150 journalists, representing various provincial press organizations in the country, will converge in Aklan province from January 15 to 18 for the 50th founding year of the Federation of Provincial Press Clubs of the Philippines (FPPCP).
The golden anniversary celebration will be highlighted with the convening of the 1st Countryside Press Congress at the Aklan State University (ASU) in Banga, Aklan, said Johnny Dayang, convenor of the FPPCP.
Dayang said participants will include club presidents, reporters, editors, correspondents, production staffers, advertising, marketing executives and social media communicators.
Supreme Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez and Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores will be addressing the press congress, with ASU president Dr. Danilo Abayon, will deliver the welcome remarks.
SC Justice Arturo Brion will later address the commemorative dinner and awards on Jan. 17 at Casa Pilar in Boracay island.
Orlan Mauricio, president of the Bulacan PNP Press Corps and FPPCP coordinator for Central Luzon region, said the milestone event will be a time to unify the provincial press clubs all over the country to fight the emergence of the so-called "media zombies and media vampires" or bogus and pseudo-newsmen who have sullied the image of the journalism profession.
"For so long a time, the obnoxious presence of fake newsmen carrying placard-size IDs, tape-recorders, earphone-mikes, cameras and other props, have become a nuisance who regularly visit in droves the offices of all local government officials in the province of Pampanga and Bulacan," Mauricio said.
The more 'sophisticated and clever ones' have pestered government agencies for "fishy deals," and many fly-by-night periodicals have tried to cover their deceitful operations by putting up staffers, giving rise to the emergence of "fake reporters and photographers" who we now call as hao-shiao mediamen, for quite some time now, Mauricio added. (FREEMAN)