Incoming press chief Trixie Cruz-Angeles to push for blogger accreditation for Palace briefings
The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) will push for the accreditation of bloggers and vloggers to cover Malacañang press briefings, incoming press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said on June 1.
"We are pushing for the accreditation of bloggers to be invited to some of the briefings, especially those contacted by the president-elect," said the PCOO chief designate, who herself is a known pro-Duterte and Marcos blogger. "Yun ang isa sa gaming na-formulate na priority."
Palace coverages and events are usually limited to journalists from TV networks, newspapers, and online news media. However, incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte's PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar has also started accrediting vloggers and social media personalities, mostly pro-administration ones, to Malacañang events.
University of the Philippines journalism professor Danilo Arao reacted to Cruz-Angeles' statement online, calling the move "dangerous."
"Where are the guidelines for the planned PCOO accreditation of bloggers? Have the MPC and other sectors been consulted? This is a dangerous proposition, considering disinformation emanating from certain "influencers" and censorship of certain journalists," he tweeted.
JOURNALISM AND BLOGGING: Where are the guidelines for the planned PCOO accreditation of bloggers? Have the MPC and other sectors been consulted? This is a dangerous proposition, considering disinformation emanating from certain "influencers" and censorship of certain journalists.
— Danilo Arao (@dannyarao) June 1, 2022
As for other press briefings, Cruz-Angeles said they plan to hold them once or twice a week, or more if needed.
Will Marcos Jr. exclude journalists?
When asked about whether all journalists and media groups will also be invited to cover Marcos Jr.'s events, the incoming press secretary said they will review existing policies first.
“I think we’ll have to take a look at existing policies first and determine and make a decision later on as to how appropriate they are for the current time. We’ll have to wait and see pending a review of all existing policies regarding the coverage in Malacañang," Cruz-Angeles said.
On May 26, a day after Marcos Jr. was proclaimed president-elect, he sat down with select media outfits GMA News, SMNI, and NET25. Marcos Jr.'s spokesperson Vic Rodriguez denied that this was a case of media exclusion as the three outfits reportedly arranged to have a sit-down interview with Marcos Jr. back when he was still a candidate.