Palace press corps elects new officers

THE Malacañang Press Corps ( MPC) has elected its new set of officers for 2020 to 2021.

Elected president was Evelyn Quiroz (Pilipino who promised to strengthen the organization amid its coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I would like to sincerely thank you all for your confidence to hold the presidency of MPC. I am humbled that you would place your faith and trust in me. This is a position that I will not take lightly,” she said in a statement.

“I am hoping for the organization’s cooperation to strengthen our community especially in this unprecedented situation,” she added.

Voted vice presidents were Maricel Halili (TV5) for television, Alexis Romero (Philippine for print, Chona Yu (Radyo Inquirer)

for radio and Celerina Monte (Manila Shimbun) for online.

Julie Aurelio of the PhilippineDaily Inquirer was elected secretary, while Kris

Jose ( Remate/ Remate Online) was voted treasurer.

Pia Ranada of Rappler was elected auditor. Meanwhile, Catherine Valente of TheManilaTimes and Francis Wakefield of DailyTribune were elected sergeants at arms.

The MPC is an independent organization of journalists from various news organizations assigned to regularly cover the Philippine president and Malacañang events.

Earlier, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. praised journalists and other media workers, stressing that the role they play is even more important during the pandemic.

“The Philippines enjoys a free and vibrant press, and this Administration places great importance to the vital role of a fair and democratic media in having a well-informed and empowered citizenry. In this time of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, this role has become more relevant,” he said.

He emphasized the need for Filipino households to get “timely, accurate and transparent” reporting of this global health emergency and government efforts to address this situation.

“As media workers continue reporting [from] the frontlines, we pray for everyone’s safety as we laud all those in front of and behind the scenes in bringing truthful information to the homes of every Filipino family,” Roque added.

CATHERINE S. VALENTE