NUJP to Palace: Hold regular Marcos briefings, not replace reporter over protocol ‘breach’

Metro Manila, Philippines - The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) has urged Malacañang to hold regular briefings with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., instead of seeking to replace a reporter accused of breaching protocol.

In a statement on Saturday, July 5, the NUJP backed the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC), a group of accredited journalists covering the president, for opposing the Palace request.

The incident involved Eden Santos of news organization Net25, who was seen directly approaching Marcos in one of his engagements for a supposed interview.

MPC said on Friday that the Palace’s request for Santos to be replaced was a clear overreach of the office’s authority.

NUJP said the Palace should “look into why reporters would have to resort to ambush interviews in the first place.”

“It may be that they need more information than is given at briefings or in advisories or that access to the President is often limited to managed press events and sit-down interviews with select journalists,” it said.

“In any case, it would be more productive for the PCO (Presidential Communications Office) to arrange regular press briefings or conversations with the President instead of trying to replace reporters whose questions and actions it may disagree with,” NUJP added.

The Palace has yet to respond to the MPC.