Where did that answer come from?
When we asked President Aquino about his promise to us ages ago that we’d get the scoop about his wedding, if and when it happened, his quick reply was, that I should take care of my health. Huh?! (See excerpts from #Meet the Inquirer Multimedia forum held Sept. 8, on page G1.)
On second thought, however, we get it. Thank you, Mr. President, for that unexpected advice—keep healthy so we could go the distance in our coverage. (Obviously, it will be a long haul.)
Each time Mr. Aquino visited the Inquirer office—last Tuesday’s was his second as President—it would be both exciting and anxiety-inducing, with the pre-visit routine predictably rigorous, given the prerequisites of the Palace.
On the day of the visit itself, however, as the whole building awaited his arrival, a sense of anticipation perked up the air—the Presidential Security Group’s men and women in work barong taking their places, our Admin and HR (HR head Rolly Suarez, no less) going over with the Presidential Management Staff the list of names/faces of the attendees, particularly who would greet the President.
Judicious choice
Inquirer president and CEO Sandy Prieto-Romualdez made a judicious choice—very low-heeled shoes, perfect for escorting the guest of honor up the iconic grand spiral staircase of the office.
In the holding room—the Inquirer boardroom—before the start of the #Meet the Inquirer Multimedia, the President looked relaxed, even jovial as he listened to central desk head Juliet Javellana and Palace reporter Nikko Dizon brief him on the hashtag game that would cap the Q&A. Talking hashtags with the Chief Executive would come down as one of our more memorable moments with him. It was LOL (lots of laughs, not lots of love as he would put it later on).
If he and our editor in chief Letty Magsanoc would have their way, this holding room tête-à-tête would go on indefinitely, with our EIC already honing in on some issues of the day (smelling scoops) and the President ducking such guerrilla thrusts with a congenial laugh. Such was the light-hearted meeting of two kinds of expertise coming from opposite ends: government and media.
In the #Meet the Inquirer Multimedia Forum, the President was visibly relaxed, answering questions swiftly and with candor, both in broad strokes and in detail (his ability to go into details—a detailed mind, as an expat head of a multinational put it—is his signature mark by now), even the tricky ones, such as, what do you think of a Binay presidency? Our managing editor Joey Nolasco, who asked that, swore he saw Mr. Aquino blink. I merely saw him get the bottle of water beside him.
Hashed beef
Even if, as he said, the only hash he was familiar with was the hashed beef that Yolly (his longtime kasambahay) would prepare for him, he seemed to have enjoyed the hashtag game at the end of the forum.
Our favorite answer: his hashtag for Inquirer—#itscomplicated. That best describes the dynamic of his relationship with the Inquirer, the broadsheet that has brought down a Philippine President once. The morning after his visit, the Inquirer banner read: “New Mamasapano lead eyed” (Our editor in chief got her scoop, as usual.) That banner was not the kind of cheery story one would expect a day after the pleasant visit of the man from the Palace.
But by now, Mr. Aquino must have already developed an attitude of pragmatism (not resignation, I hope) toward media.
After the forum, he was prevailed upon to have a light lunch with the Inquirer in the boardroom. (No less than Señor Terry of Terry’s prepared the meal.)
From our Lifestyle seat, we’ve encountered the administrations of Marcos, Ramos, Estrada, GMA, and we find Mr. Aquino to be accessible and his ways simple, more down-home, casual. “Tita Ming” Ramos’ simplicity and candor are also tops in our book.
Before Mr. Aquino could have his paella, he had to bid the table goodbye, and prepared to leave, but not without pausing at the winding stairway for a “groufie” with the Inquirer family.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he had gone—moving on to the last stretch of what we prayed, at the beginning of his term, would be our friend’s “safe and noble journey.”
In 2016, we hope to be able to write about the style and substance of a friend’s presidency. If only for that, we shall try to keep healthy—even through traffic!