Around 20 members of the Dumaguete media Friday afternoon walked out from the press conference of Energy Sec. Carlos Jericho Petilla and the Energy Development Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Tantoco in Valencia, Negros Oriental after the activity was dominated by national media.
The press conference, held shortly after the inauguration of the new 49.4MW Nasulo geothermal power plant in sitio Nasulo, barangay Puhagan in Valencia, was intended for both local media and about six of their national counterparts who came to the Province upon the invitation of EDC.
The local media, comprising about 90 percent of the total number of broadcast, print and online media practitioners in Dumaguete, left the venue in the middle of the press conference after it became clear to them they could not raise questions with Petilla and Tantoco.
Even EDC’s John Arnaldo, vice president for Corporate Affairs who acted as moderator in the press conference, failed to find ways to accommodate the local media with their questions for the Energy Secretary and the EDC.
From the start, one lady reporter of a major national daily appeared to be dominating the proceedings of the press conference, as evidenced in voice and video recordings, with local media saying afterwards they could not find even the slightest window of opportunity to ask questions.
EDC sources identified the lady reporter as the Energy beat reporter of the Manila Bulletin. Among the six or so national media present during the said press conference included Alvin Elchico of ABS-CBN.
Towards the middle of the press briefing, members of the Dumaguete media started retrieving their voice recorders and microphones, and left the room one by one, complaining of what they perceived as “preferential treatment” for national media.
The Dumaguete media said these national media journalists have more regular opportunities to interview Secretary Petilla as they cover the Energy Department daily in Metro Manila, while the local media rarely get a chance to interact with national public figures.
The Dumaguete media had skipped lunch for the press conference as suggested by EDC, and were only able to eat around 2 p.m. after they had walked out frustrated, disappointed, and criticizing what they described as a monopolized press conference, almost like a one-on-one dialogue.
They said they had many questions lined up for Petilla and Tantoco, most prominent of which are in relation to the controversial cutting of more than 500 trees by EDC at the Southern Negros Geothermal Project site in Valencia town.
Some of the reporters said they felt small and were of low morale for the “unkind and unfair” treatment given them at the EDC press conference, while others were more “hard-hitting” in their radio programs that continued until Saturday.
SNGP-EDC is currently taking a lot of flak from environmental groups protesting the cutting of the trees for a road expansion project in Barangay Puhagan, Valencia.
The environmentalists have since been campaigning against EDC to stop another similar expansion project, while engaged in a massive campaign to save Mt. Talinis from destruction and degradation of its natural forests and its rich bio-diversity.
EDC’s SNGP facilities are located within the Mt. Talinis area, described by environmentalists as the “last remaining frontier”, and a critical watershed in Negros Oriental.
These groups are questioning the legitimacy of the expansion project, particularly the cutting of trees, and are demanding that EDC present its Environmental Impact Study and the Environmental Impact Assessment for such project.
They have also hit the Department of Environment & Natural Resources for giving a tree-cutting permit and other documents to allow for the cutting of 576 trees in the geothermal reserve in Valencia.
EDC officials later apologized and tried to appease the local media following the walkout by saying that Petilla and Tantoco were available for interview after lunch, but many opted to leave as there were other appointments and deadlines to beat.
They also felt it was no longer proper as it came across as a consuelo de bobo to make up for an oversight in what is EDC’s major event in recent years in Negros Oriental.
EDC, Petilla, and the national media present in the activity came under fire from local media and the public afterwards, with local radio station programs criticizing the unfair treatment, while the walkout also spread like wildfire throughout social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
The walkout became viral on Facebook with many sympathizers condemning and criticizing the unfair treatment, with some calling for a media blackout against EDC, while others seeking a unified statement from the local media, as the incident happened just as the world is celebrating Press Freedom this September. (PNA/JFP)