PNoy to meet the press on hostage tragedy

GMANewsTV:

In what is expected to be his most comprehensive discussion on the hostage tragedy, President Benigno Aquino III will face news anchors of three of the country’s biggest broadcast networks on Thursday for a “no-holds-barred” interview regarding the August 23 hostage tragedy in Manila.

The one-on-three encounter is highly unusual for a president. According to a Palace source, the idea came from Aquino himself.

In nine years in power, ex-President Gloria Arroyo only faced journalists one-on-one, and rarely at that, or in larger groups.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda on Wednesday told Palace reporters that the panel of journalists from GMA Network, ABS-CBN, and TV 5 would zero in on what Aquino was doing during the 11-hour hostage crisis.

Lacierda said they expect either Mike Enriquez or Mel Tiangco from GMA Network, Ted Failon from ABS-CBN, and Paolo Bediones from TV 5 to compose the panel.

The Manila Bulletin quoted Edwin Lacierda:

“the interview is meant to settle all the questions on live broadcast on the involvement of the President in the hostage drama.”

A President that engages.  About time.

Cocoy Dayao has written 556 articles on this blog.

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Cocoy is an Internet entrepreneur, technology enthusiast, political junkie and social observer who enjoys a good cup of coffee, comic books, and tweets as @cocoy on twitter. He publishes The Multiverse, a weblog that covers pop culture, as well as Lab Rats that talks about Apple, Social Media and Technology. Cocoy is also the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the ProPinoy Project. He regularly contributes political commentary at BlogWatch.ph, and writes about the technology sector for the Philippine Online Chronicles. "Conservative in what we say, Liberal in what we accept."