AT LEAST 50 media practitioners and students in Negros Occidental attended the covering elections seminar organized by the Negros Press Club (NPC), the oldest press organization in the country.
The half-day activity at GT Hotel in Bacolod City on Saturday, November 24, aimed at advancing the capacities of NPC members as media practitioners.
Renato Duran, president of NPC, said the seminar will further equip print and broadcast journalists in the province with necessary knowledge on covering elections, a national event that requires vigilance and comprehensive media coverage.
Duran, an anchorman of dyEZ Aksyon Radyo–Bacolod, said the activity would also broaden their understanding of other related concepts thereby improving the level of reportage.
“The press club hopes that this endeavor will positively contribute to achieving clean and honest elections come May 2019,” he said, adding that this is also a venue for the students to gain more knowledge about the media and its vital role during elections.
Participating students included mass communications and senior high school students of the University of Negros Occidental–Recoletos in Bacolod City, senior high school students of University of St. La Salle–Bacolod, and student-writers of Sum-ag National High School, Emiliano Lizares National High School, and Bacolod City National High School.
The attending media practitioners are composed of reporters, writers, editors, and anchors of various radio and television stations, and newspapers and online publications.
The pool of speakers, meanwhile, included Bacolod City Election Officer lawyer Mavil Majarucon-Sia, Bacolod City Police Office Acting Director Police Senior Superintendent Francisco Ebreo, and Dr. Walter Yudelmo, department chair of Media and Communication of the Trinity University of Asia.
Majarucon-Sia spoke on the Media and Comelec: Understanding Election Process.
Majarucon-Sia presented updates on the activities including preparations of Comelec–Bacolod as well as important information that media should know including schedules of the campaign period and local absentee voting, among others.
She also underscored some guidelines during elections like the prohibition on taking photos of political candidates while voting, which most media are not yet aware of.
Ebreo, for his part, discussed the role of the Philippine National Police prior, during, and after elections.
He also assured that the police continue to implement measures to ensure the safety of the public during the local and national polls.
Speaking on “The Role of Political Advertisements in Shaping the Voters’ Consciousness,” Yudelomo said his research showed that voters decide on whom to vote based on the results of the survey particularly on who is leading.
Yudelmo emphasized that with the current political landscape of the Philippines, some qualified candidates may not win the elections just because they have no machinery.
“Election in the Philippines is a popularity contest especially that Filipinos love basketball, boxing, and beauty pageant,” the media and communications professor noted.
He added that “I am so dreaming that there would be qualifications for those who can vote because the same issues and problems have been hounding the country ever since. Is there hope, yes, but when?”
The seminar is the first of the two-part to be organized by NPC.
There will be a second part. It will include topics on investigative reporting on elections, preparing media for election coverage, as well as the role and activities conducted by other important groups like the Pastoral Parish Council for Responsible Voting, among others.