A glimpse of media coverage under a Duterte presidency

DAVAO CITY – Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte’s unique way of life has become quite a challenge for journalists covering him.

“Parang kabute (He’s like mushroom)”

This was how exasperated journalists described Duterte, who has led members of the media in a virtual catand-mouse type of news coverage, giving them a virtual nocturnal tour of this city ever since it became apparent he was going to become the country’s next chief executive.

Apart from the clubhouse of the unfinished Matina Enclave where he received his first well-wishers after his resounding triumph in the May 9 polls and held his first formal press conference, Duterte has been granting interviews and holding press conferences at just about any other place in this city where he has been mayor for over two decades.

And it’s been quite a challenge for the media covering the country’s incoming 16th president as they got firsthand experience of how it would be to cover a man who is known hereabouts as the “Night Owl.”

In the wee hours of Sunday, he sprang a surprise by going to his favorite hangout, the After Dark Bar, where he had mid-Netherlands, night snack. There, he talked with young policemen and lectured them on to be true to their jobs while assuring them that he will look after the welfare of Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel in his six years in office.

Then at around 8 p.m. Monday, Duterte was spotted at the Legaspi Suites that had media men scrambling to pursue the elusive Davao City mayor. He was reportedly meeting a longtime British friend, who complained that he nearly got kidnapped recently (see related story), before the media was able to catch up with him.

And who would forget the visit he paid to his parents’ grave at the Davao City Public Cemetery at 3 a.m. on May 10 when it was already apparent he was headed for a landslide victory?

But as in all the other “chance” interviews, Duterte was gracious enough not to frustrate journalists, because for each and every opportunity he finds himself cornered by the media, he always had some substantial disclosures for them.

“Parang kabute si Digong (Digong is like mushroom). He just turns up anywhere. We just get tips that he’s on the move and we just pursue the tip,” said a news correspondent from a top network.

As such, news teams, which have been covering him since the second week of May, have had to go on shifts just to keep up with Duterte.

“All of us, from the reporter to the technicians, have to be on our toes because Digong might spring into action any time,” the news correspondent said.

News teams from the local networks and the international press are mostly billeted in two hotels, the Marco Polo and Mandaya which are both located in the heart of the city.

And for most of the day, reporters and cameramen could be seen lounging around in these hotels’ lobbies, ever ready for action once word about Duterte’s whereabouts is received.

Adding to all the frustration is the absence of a press minder who could coordinate with the media where Duterte would be at an appointed place and time to hold a press conference.

In fact, there were tense moments when an ABC5 news team got an exclusive interview with Duterte recently, which did not sit well with rival networks ABS-CBN and GMA-7.

Even the Davao media, given their close ties with those in Duterte’s inner circle of supporters, have been finding it hard to locate the mayor.

“At times, we get tips from the driver, a city hall official, or from any other friend who may be connected with Digong and would know where he is going,” a reporter of a Davao daily said.

But he was quick to add: “We really don’t mind. We know it’s for his security that things like these are being kept under wraps. We know that in a few weeks, he’ll no longer be our mayor but the country’s president.”