Life on the Beat: The Department of Justice
Life on the Beat – What Journalism Students Saw
The Department of Justice:
2 press corps and an ‘injustice’ secretary
By Rosario Joy E. Flores
Department of Justice (DOJ) beat reporters usually start pounding the beat just before noon. Except when there are big stories, reporters spend most of the day in the press rooms waiting for memoranda and Supreme Court decisions.
Reporters also rely on interviews with Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez. Alejandro Lactao, DOJ information officer, says Gonzalez is much more accessible to the media now—no need for appointments and pre-arranged meetings. The DOJ still holds press conferences but not regularly anymore.
Lactao, a political science graduate, has been with the DOJ information office for only eight months. But he has been working in the government for more than two decades.
Compared to their previous beats, covering the DOJ is welcomed by the reporters. One reason, according to Jun Samson of dzAR, is that stories come effortlessly. It is unlike the police beat where reporters need to hop from one police headquarters to another to get stories. At the DOJ, reporters need only wait for faxed stories that usually arrive at 12 noon.
Samson, a former dental technician, used to cover Customs and the Camanava (Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela) police beat. For him, being a journalist carries privileges like establishing connections and getting to mingle with “big” people. Flashing a media ID also excuses him from having to get in long lines, he says.
Samson adds that the DOJ beat covers not only the department but also other agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Immigration, the Commission on Elections, and the Court of Appeals from which materials could be obtained by fax.
When it comes to newsroom facilities, however, DOJ reporters are not quite satisfied. Other beats, the reporters say, have more facilities like computers. Lactao, however, says beat reporters are provided with meal stubs everyday. He further gave the observation that some reporters have “pakikisama” while others are snobbish and “suplado.” Those “nakikisama” are the ones who accept meal stubs.
There are two groups of reporters in the DOJ: the Justice and Court Reporters’ Association (JUCRA) and the Justice Reporters’ Association (JUROR). Both organizations are provided with their own air-conditioned news-rooms on the second floor of the DOJ. These rooms have cubicles, a water dispenser, photocopying machine, telephone, television, and fax machine. JUCRA’s room, however, is more spacious than that of JUROR’s. Because the number of computers available is not enough, reporters bring their own laptops and desktops.
History of discord
Why there are two media organizations in just one beat is something that can be explained only by the older reporters. More than seven years ago, there was an election at JUCRA and the election results were unac-ceptable to certain members who then broke away from the organization. In the year 2000, another group—JUROR—was born. Even before the election, however, reporters said ani-mosity already existed among the reporters within the group.
Today, such ill feelings have supposedly died down. “Nag-aaway-away sila noon pero hindi na ngayon,” says Hector Lawas, reporter for People’s Journal and Tonight. The two associations occupy separate rooms simply because the DOJ does not have a larger room to accommodate all the reporters.
For JUCRA members, such enmity is water under the bridge. Some JUROR reporters, however, mockingly refer to JUCRA members as “broadshits,” a play on the word “broadsheets” for which most JUCRA reporters write.
According to Samson, the following make up JUROR: The Manila Times, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Bulgar, Tanod, dzAR, dzEC, dwIZ, dzRB, dzME, dzBB, dzRH, dzMM, dzXL, Radio Veritas, Bombo Radyo, and INQ7.
JUCRA members, on the other hand, are made up of reporters from two tabloids, the broadsheets, and TV stations.
Busy hour
The busiest hour for JUCRA reporters is 2 to 3 p.m. At about this time, the two press rooms are jam-packed with reporters trying to beat their deadlines. Reporters ask each other what angle they are working on in their stories.
As for JUROR reporters, Samson admits that “nagpapasahan kami ng istorya.”
On the other hand, JUCRA apparently assigns a “ponente,” a person who writes the stories and passes these on to the other reporters.
“Ah, so si Gerry pala ang ponente natin ngayon?” teases Malaya reporter Evangeline de Vera who had just arrived that afternoon as she asks for stories from her fellow reporters. She is referring to Gerry Baldo of The Daily Tribune. Baldo started his career as a photographer.
Reporters add that Gonzalez makes their job a lot easier because he talks a lot. “Hindi na siya kailangang pigain pa para makakuha ng information sa kanya. Magugulat ka na lang sa mga sasabihin niya and that’s it. It’s already a story!” says a JUROR member. Twice in the presence of this student, a department employee referred jokingly to Gonzalez as “injustice secretary.”
In addition to the materials fed to reporters and the statements of Gonzalez, beat journalists turn to prosecutors and fiscals for their news stories. Other reporters provide stories as well.
The relationship between repor-ters and the public information officer could be described as com-fortably casual. Reporters ask him for copies of memoranda, petitions, and other documents needed for their stories. In the same way, Lactao could ask favors from them, too.
After writing their stories, reporters either spend their time chatting or watching TV. On a slow day, malling is also an option, with Robinson’s Place-Ermita being less than 100 meters away from the DOJ office.
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