After spending months covering the grueling and exciting election season, CNN Philippines’ senior correspondent Ina Andolong recently sat down for an interview for a special 23-minute feature on the news channel about her experience following Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the reluctant candidate who eventually became President.
Here are some of the highlights of her interview:
1. Is he or isn’t he running? Even reporters covering Duterte were clueless about his plans
Thanks to their proximity to politikos, journalists often have inside info on upcoming political movements even before they’re announced. Duterte proved to be an odd case since not even the veteran reporters covering him in Davao City were sure if he would be running for president or not at the time certificate of candidacy were filed in October 2015.
Andolong recalls: “There was one specific reporter I got in touch with— that’s our stringer from Davao City. I know for a fact they’re close and he’s covered the mayor for such a long time. If there’s any reporter I would trust to give me reliable information about Duterte, it would be him. And back then, he was also uncertain. Just like me, he would hear stories that yes, he’s (Duterte) is really firm on running but on certain days, hindi rin pala sure so parang in that sense, you get the [impression] that no one knew what he wanted to do, what his plans were.”
2. Davao City’s pride in Duterte was palpable
No one could be prouder of Duterte when clamor for his candidacy for president grew than his own constituents in Davao City, where he ruled as mayor for over two decades.
Andolong says streamers bearing Duterte’s photos and names were a common sight in the city. “Karamihan sa kanila (Davaoeños) hindi pa naman talaga nami-meet si mayor siguro, hindi pa siya nakakausap nang one on one. Pero you’ll be surprised at how they talk— it’s as if they really knew this guy really well. It somewhat unites them. You see their unity when they talk about their mayor.”
3. Crowds swelled at Duterte’s rally out of curiosity than support— at first
Andolong believes Duterte’s colorful personality was a major reason people flocked to his campaign sorties even if he did not have as much prominent celebrities as guests compared to his rivals, and even if he sometimes arrived at wee hours of the night or hours behind schedule.
She muses: “When we got to the provinces and even Metro Manila, magugulat ka. ‘saan nanggaling ‘tong mga taong ‘to?’ And you’ll see they’re so passionate, really have that sense of curiosity about who this guy is offering change… Siguro it’s not really his supporters but people really curious about this guy kasi at the forefront, makikita mo pa rin ang character niya. Maloko, mapagmura. Siguro one of the reasons kaya [siya] dinudumog ng tao is to see who this person is, maybe, hopefully get to know him more in-depth.”
4. Duterte’s supporters were perhaps the most passionate and devoted among fans of all presidential contenders
One of the things that surprised Andolong during the campaign was how dedicated Duterte’s supporters were in waiting for him to arrive at his sorties even if he almost always showed up late. While a delay in a politiko’s appearance for more than an hour would naturally cause the crowd at an event to dwindle, the CNN correspondent was amazed at how big the attendance to Duterte’s rallies were despite his tardiness.
5. The number of reporters covering Duterte swelled as the prospect of his victory became real
The prospect of Duterte winning the presidential race was initially seen as close to none even if there was clamor for his candidacy. Things changed, however, sometime in April when he zoomed past three presidential candidates— administration standard bearer Mar Roxas, Vice President Jejomar Binay and poll frontrunner Senator Grace Poe— to take a commanding lead in pre-election surveys.
As support for the mayor became stronger, media interest in him also grew. Andolong recalls: “Siguro na-feel ko lang na talagang seryoso na ‘to when more reporters were covering him. We started as a small group of reporters. Before we knew it, wow ang dami na talanag interesado, including foreign media.”
6. Duterte can be playful with reporters on- and off-cam
Philippines’ president-elect Rodrigo Duterte (C) speaks to journalists in Davao City on June 2, 2016.
Rodrigo Duterte warned journalists on June 2, 2016 he would be unable to guarantee their safety, brushing off criticism over his previous comments that murdered corrupt reporters deserved their fate.
/ AFP PHOTO / MANMAN DEJETO
Sometime during the campaign season, when his activities for the day were over, Duterte took reporters covering him for a karaoke night at his favorite hangout in Davao City. While she was game to belt out some tunes, Andolong said she found herself fiddling through the songbook because the songs which Duterte picked for his guests to sing with him were unknown to her. Making things more challenging was the mayor’s condition for the reporters: No one was allowed to go home until he/she had a duet with him.
She muses: “Ang kapal-kapal ng songbook na alam ng pianista, pupunta ako doon sa ibang pages [but Duterte would say], ‘no, no, you pick only from these pages. So ang tagal ko doon kasi wala talaga akong alam na kanta niya.”
When it became clear that Duterte won the presidential race after the May 9 polls, he was asked who he would appoint as his Executive Secretary. Without skipping a beat, he answered: “Si Ina.” It was yet another proof he liked to play pranks on journalists he’d grown fond of.
7. Duterte was friendly towards journalists
Duterte’s decision to boycott the media close to a month before he formally assumed office on June 30 came as a shock to Andolong because he had been so friendly and gracious to them throughout the campaign season. She recalled that the mayor would even break his security cordon and pull them out of the crowd when he saw they were being squished.
“Pag nakikita na niya kaming (reporters) na naiipit, siya pa yung hahatak sa amin para makalapit sa kanya. Aawayin pa niya ‘yung security niya na huwag kaming harangin,” Andolong recalled.
Curious to watch the entirety of Andolong’s interview? Watch it here:
The post Chasing the President: 7 things we learned from Ina Andolong’s coverage of Duterte’s campaign appeared first on Politiko.