BIZ BUZZ: Asean goes mum
Philippine reporters arrived yesterday in Makati expecting to hear from the country’s top economic and trade officials at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) business events kick-off.
What they got instead was a performance by Jed Madela.
On Tuesday, the Philippines formally opened its Asean business events with the Asean Editors and Economic Opinion Leaders Forum at a Makati hotel, drawing senior officials and leading business figures.
President Marcos led the guest list, joined by Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, Finance Secretary Frederick Go, Information Technology Secretary Henry Aguda and business leaders such as Jaime Zobel de Ayala.
Security was tight from the 8 a.m. call time, and prior to the actual event, registration proved laborious for many media members.
While such protocols are standard for high-level Asean gatherings, this setup limited press access more than usual.
Cameramen were barred from the main hall for much of the program, relegated instead to an adjacent media room. Reporters were there too, following the nine-hour event through a single television monitor.
And when most consequential moments came during the keynote speeches of Roque and Go, the audio feed to the media room went silent.
For several minutes, microphones were dead, leaving reporters without direct access to the event and relying instead on official transcripts.
What’s even more peculiar was that Madela’s performance—in between Roque and Go’s speeches—could still be heard on the Facebook live feed streaming to the television.
DTI officials said thDTI officials said the disruption was a technical glitch, resolved shortly after Go had concluded his speech.
Whether coincidence or equipment failure, the interruption cast a subtle shadow over the Philippines’ first Asean business event of the year.
It was definitely far from the “Umagang kay Ganda” that Madela’s opening number had promised.
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
