PGMA's Speech during the Gridiron Night of the National Press Club

PGMA's Speech during the Gridiron Night of the National Press Club

Manila Pavilion, Manila Hotel (13 Sept 2003)

Thank you very much, Press Secretary Milt Alingod.

National Press Club President Tony Antonio, welcome to your party; Vice President Alice Reyes, thank you for giving the welcoming remarks; Roman Floresca; Sonny Galvez; Jimmy Ching; I'd like to greet few Cabinet members who are here -- Secretary Romulo, Secretary Ople, Bobi Tiglao, Toting Bunye -- they're the only ones who were obliged to come. The others have better things to do; friends and supporters of the National Press Club, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

First of all, I would like to ask you to... Well, I'd like to ask you to see my family who are all here with me tonight. Okey. Well, stand up, stand up.

I am very glad to have my family with me tonight.

Matinik talaga ang aking media group, sabi nila, dalhin ko ang aking buong pamilya. Kasi ang unang plano nila, gagawa sana kami ng eksena na maghihiwalay kami si Mike para sa mga tabloids. Pero sorry, nahihirapan yung aking media group for me to change my image from taray to martyr. So, sorry na lang. Yung sob story saka na because I still have to comply with my annual new year's resolution not to be mataray.

I really try very hard not to be mataray. Remember, that was the subject matter of my Gridiron last year, my katarayan? Every year, it's my resolution, my new year's resolution, and I really try so hard not to be mataray even if there is so much dirty laundry, so much filth, so much disorder, so much noise to deal with, and that's just my granddaughter Mikaela. Plus, I have a government to run, too.

Being married to our country in such a difficult time as this is patience-consuming, energy-consuming, time-consuming. Which frankly makes me wonder what I'm doing here. Just like those who did not even bother to come tonight, they bought tables like that one but they didn't bother to come because they have better things to do.

You notice only my Cabinet members related to the press, and Bert Romulo and Ka Blas are here tonight. The others, all have better things to do. But I am, just the same.

In this yearly ritual where the president has to grin and bear it while the press pokes fun of our mistakes and our problems. Yes I'm here, even as for somebody who is mataray -- the matarays usually don't like to be made fun of. But still I'm here because behind the light moments of this annual ritual, as said by Alice in the welcome remarks of Tony is the message: those in power must respect the freedom of the press. Yes, I will always uphold your right as journalists for as long as you report the good news.

Kung bad kayo sa akin, ipapa-lifestyle check ko kayo. Kasi matinik ang aking mga espiya, matinik ang aking security team. Alam ko kung sino ang naughty, alam ko kung sino ang nice sa akin.

Matinik talaga ang aking security team. I asked an aide why Vic Corpus spends so much time in the war room. Yung aide na tinanungan ko, wala siya dito, not on duty tonight. Si ano yon, yung aking Class 95 salutatorian aide, si Chris Magdangal. Alam n'yo, salutatorian yon sa Class 95. Yung pagkaiba nila ni Gambala, maliit na maliit na punto lamang, pero si Gambala, sabi sa script kanina, gambala sa ating bansa; si Magdangal, nagdadangal sa ating bansa.

Anyway, sa kanya ko tinanong: ba't parating nandiyan si Vic Corpus sa ating war room? Sabi niya: ma'am, because he likes playing the game of the generals. So I went to the war room because I wanted to see the games that victor plays. And he submitted to me the following report: Madam President, according to ISAFP, A1 report, you and Gringo have something in common, you both like dancing. Gringo likes the folk dance, the coup-racha, while you according to the A1 reports really want the cha-cha. At last, Victor Corpus' intelligence is accurate. He's really travelled the learning curve from his Mawanay days. Noon, namamawanay siya, ngayon, mahusay na.

Matinik talaga itong aking security team. Si Roy Golez naman -- pinakita ninyo, walang utak -- may utak yan. He even pre-figured your script, because one day he made the assessment for me, yung kanyang national security briefing that the problem of finding the bilyones necessary for the national budget is nothing compared to the trillones involved in our national security concerns. Di ba matinik si Roy Golez? Ginawa n'yo sa script ninyo pero nauna siya.

Matinik din yung aking mga palace aides. Nabanggit ko na nga kanina, si Magdangal. 'yung isang kilalang-kilala ninyo, si Ermie. Pero yung kasama ko ngayon, si Vivian. When I was about to change for my exercise the other day, tinanong ni Vivian sa akin, ma'am, will you be wearing your pidal pushers? Kasi si Vivian, Visayan.

By the way, yung exercise na yon, I'd like to invite again the female reporters, the palace reporters, you can join me if you like exercise -- and you lack exercise because you're following me all over the place -- you can join me and the other female staff members in our twice-weekly exercise session. Totoo yon. Basta walang ano ha, walang ambush interview, para ilalagay off-the-record remarks. But it's nice to have you there in a setting na walang mga ambush-ambush interview. Sabi kasi ng aking matinik na media group or groups, kulang tayo sa bonding.

Talagang matinik ang ating media groups, sabi nga nila: sa kulang ng bonding, nagkakaroon tuloy ng... Eh, kasalanan nila yon. My media group is very good in bonding, but very poor ni plumbing. Kasi pag may leak, hindi nila nahuhuli ang source. Bakit kaya?

Pero matinik sila talaga. When they felt I had been too harsh with Tina Panganiban Perez, they decided that we should send her roses. Actually, pangatlo na yung delivery eh. The first orders went astray. Because first, when Milt Alingod gave his assistant the message to send flowers: padala nga si Perez ng bulaklak. Naku! Si Vince Perez nag-blush, kasi siya ang nakakuha. Di nalaman ko si Vince Perez nakakuha ng flowers dahil nag-blush nga siya sa meeting namin. Sabi ko: mali naman yon. You send flowers to the wrong Perez. So they sent the flowers to Nani, ako tuloy ang nag-blush.

Matinik talaga yung aking mga aide. When I look for Vince Perez, they call Nani Perez. When I look for Nani Perez, they call Nani Braganza. When I look for Nani Braganza, they call my senior aide, General Braganza. When I look for Bebot Alvarez, they call Sonny Alvarez. When I look for Sonny Alvarez, they call Sonny Belmonte. I had to remove all that confusion. Mabuti na lang si Sonny Belmonte elected. Pero tignan ninyo yung iba: Sonny Alvarez is no longer in DENR, Bebot is no longer in DOTC, General Braganza is no longer my senior aide, Nani Braganza is no longer in DAR, and Nani Perez is no longer in justice. Watch out, Vince Perez. The flowers were not for you, they were for Tina.

Apologizing is not a problem for me. My father, many, many of the older people would tell me stories of my father apologizing even as president. He had no problem apologizing even as president especially if the mistake he made was at the expense of someone else. I think he learned that a president should be gracious enough to apologize when he was a Malacanang lawyer during the time of President Quezon. The story was that an aide went to President Quezon one time, he was having siesta, and told him, Mr. President, the press is here. Quezon said, tell the press to go to hell! So the aide went out and told the parish priest to go to hell. Quezon had to apologize. Press -- priest, pidal pusher -- pedal pusher, times never really changed among the aides, kasi multi-ethnic society tayo.

In Malacanang, the order of the day is always two things: feed the beast, and try to influence the agenda. But I think for the editors, the order of the day is: bite the hand that feeds the beast, and kill the good news. Kaya sabi ni Tony, mabait kayo sa akin ngayong gabi, kasi sa peryodiko hindi kayo mabait sa akin.

Nonetheless, the freedom of the press is important to us as a democratic country.

We know from our martial law experience that without press freedom our democratic institutions die. During martial law the people were kept in the dark on what was actually happening to our country, because the dictatorship made it appear that everything was going well and it was done with the help of the controlled press, the controlled media.

At present, it's the opposite. The media always makes it appear that our country is in deep trouble. This is because as Alice says, when she, in behalf of Tony Antonio, that the press can write anything under the sun in the Philippines. But the truth of the matter is that we are progressing economically and compared with other Asian countries, except maybe China and Malaysia, we're doing comparatively well.

Kaya pakiusap. Ayusin n'yo sana ang inyong reports even if you and I know that good news do not always make -- in fact seldom make -- for good copy. I wish it did. And I wish you could make it so. Sabi nga noong iba, no, we have to have bad news, otherwise, our paper won't sell. Well, I don't know about you but my statistics say that the bulletin sells very well even if it is a very, very fair and sober newspaper. Maraming salamat, Don Emilio.

I also share your grief about the latest death of Jun Pala. The Jun Pala was a hard hitting radio broadcaster, he was one of the few who used to saying nice things about me, and that makes me doubly sorry indeed. And I would like to accept the suggestion, Tony, to form a task force that will join your task force to especially run after these killers, or if there are already those accused and undergoing to trial, to speed up the trial. Oh, there's Obet Pagdanganan of DAR. I didn't see him earlier. I saw Obet because I was looking at who is the enforcer who bothered not to only to buy tickets but to attend as well. Nakikita ko dito, si Jun Ebdane ang nagpapasensiya sa inyo. Kaya si Jun Ebdane ang magiging... Ang maghahanap ng mga killer ni Jun Pala at iba pa. Susmaryosep! sana at the same time, he stumbles on Al-Ghozi as well.

One of the universal sources of humor about the press is the question: what would be the headlines if tomorrow were the end of the world? And my matinik media team played the game. Palagay raw nila, if tomorrow were the end of the world, ganito ang mga headline.

For the Daily Tribune: Last day for Arroyo, Erap takes over.

For Malaya: Oreta demands snap elections tomorrow.

For the Philippine Star: Star publisher invited to U.N. Summit on the end of the world.

Inquirer Analysis: Political conspiracies put an end to the world.

People's Journal: Malacanang creates crisis committee for the end of the world.

People's Tonight: Gringo: ako yung nasa letrato.

Star Ngayon: Huling Ro-Ro, biyahe na!

Abante Tonite: Bagsak na ang gobyerno ni GMA.

TV Patrol: MERALCO pays full refund to the customers.

Inquirer: Mike A.: I won't last a day without you; GMA: I will survive.
Balita: Noli: Paalam na, bayan.

Paalam na po sa inyong lahat ngayong gabi. Hanggang bukas, we will survive! The republic will survive with the help of a fair and free media.

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.

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