It’s final: Palace press working area to be moved out of Palace

The transfer of Malacañang’s press working area to a building outside of the Palace is now final, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said yesterday.

However, the Malacañang Press Corps is still protesting the move, saying it gives reporters less immediate access to Malacañang officials and visiting guests.

Bunye said the plan might be carried out before year’s end as the Kalayaan Hall, where reporters are now housed, is scheduled to be converted into a museum.

The volume of artifacts could no longer be accommodated in the museum on the second floor and President Arroyo decided to move all offices from the Kalayaan Hall to the New Executive Building, he added.

The New Executive Building housed the Malacañang press members during the Marcos administration.

Bunye could not say how much in funding was appropriated to convert Kalayaan Hall into a museum, except for the current briefing room, which Mrs. Arroyo would convert into a television studio for her periodic roundtable discussions with officials.

In his letter to the MPC, Bunye said present occupants of the Kalayaan Hall would be transferred to the New Executive Building.

These include the office of Government Mass Media Group head Cerge Remonde, Press Undersecretary Isabel de Leon and the press working area.

"Although not located in Kalayaan, my office will likewise be transferred to (the New Executive Building), if that’s any consolation," Bunye said.

Bunye said they had a preliminary meeting on the planned transfer, and De Leon as well as Press Undersecretary Robert Rivera, in coordination with other concerned offices, conducted a second ocular inspection of the proposed site.

"Rest assured that the facility of MPC’s coverage of Palace events is being taken into consideration," he said.

In a statement, the MPC, led by its president Ferdie Maglalang, objected to the plan, saying it was finalized without prior consultation with the media people concerned.

"We shall submit immediately our official position regarding the matter, and we do hope that our concerns, including our objections and apprehensions, will be taken into careful consideration," he said.

Maglalang appealed to Palace officials not to rush the MPC’s "eviction" from Kalayaan Hall.

"We request that they put on hold any such plan under the present circumstances until we are finally heard and consulted," he said.

Maglalang informed Bunye that the MPC created a special committee to consolidate the members’ sentiments and comments into an official stance. — Aurea Calica