Why Mayor Rama kept reporters out of the forum

Mayor Michael Rama on the forum on traffic congestion. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

NEWS reporters were not allowed into yesterday’s 9 a.m. dialog about the traffic congestion along the Banilad-Talamban road.

Only after insisting on access to cover the event were they able to get in past 10 a.m.

Mayor Michael Rama, who set the rules the day before, said the forum was for affected “stakeholders” who had concerns to raise and that the event was a “presentation”, not a “consultation.”

Expecting heated discussion over his imposing a no-left-turn ban by surprise, the mayor said only cameramen and photographers would be allowed into the social hall.

He told reporters to wait until the gathering is over to conduct interviews.

“Everybody should be aligned first so together we can make the best things happen for the Banilad-Talamban area,” he said in Thursday’s press conference.

A radio reporter managed to slip in yesterday and do his job: He aired the proceedings live from his cellphone.

Yesterday, Mayor Rama set similar guidelines to control the discussion in an open forum after giving his opening remarks which took almost half an hour.

He announced: No airing of complaints. No fighting. Just give your suggestions on how to address traffic congestion along the BanTal corridor.

“Dili ta mag-away (Let’s not quarrel),” Rama told a crowd of over 50 persons who came for the forum.

The mayor’s staff manning the registration table outside didn’t bar the entry of reporters.

Citom board chairman Ruben Almendras opened the dialog followed by Rama and then Citom office head Rafael Yap, who was supposed to give an overview of the new traffic scheme.

Since his USB flashdrive wouldn’t open for a Powerpoint slides, Yap drew diagrams on a white board to show the road and no-left turn areas.

Guests were served bread and water for snacks, then later packed meals for lunch before the dialog ended shortly past 12 noon.