PRESS WORKING AREA. First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos makes an unannounced visit to the press working area at the New Executive Building (NEB) in Malacañang on Tuesday (Oct. 18, 2022). She said the press working area would undergo renovations before the end of the year. (Screengrab from PTV-4)
MANILA – The press working area (PWA) at the New Executive Building (NEB) in Malacañang will undergo renovations before the end of the year, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos said Tuesday.
She made the announcement after making an unannounced visit to the NEB and meeting reporters and other media workers covering the Palace beat.
“First Lady Liza Marcos, bumisita sa working area ng media sa New Executive Building, Malacañang, ngayong araw, Oktubre 18 (First Lady Liza Marcos visited the working area of reporters at the New Executive Building, Malacañang today, October 18),” state-run PTV-4 said in a Facebook post.
“Ayon sa First Lady, may mga aayusin sa working area ng media na nagko-cover sa Pangulo at Palasyo bago matapos ang taon (According to the First Lady, there will be repairs in the working area of the media covering the President and the Palace before the end of the year),” it added.
Araneta-Marcos vowed to make the PWA better" "before December 10", particularly the restrooms on the first floor.
"I'm here to make your press working area nice," she said in a chance interview with reporters.
The NEB, which is located along Jose P. Laurel Street in San Miguel, Manila, houses the PWA, press briefing room (PBR), and other government offices.
It used to be home to the now-defunct Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) until the agency transferred to an office space at the Times Plaza Building along UN Avenue in Manila.
To recall, the PWA and PBR were both closed during the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 to help prevent the spread of infections.
Instead of the usual face-to-face press briefings, virtual press briefings were regularly held to make announcements and take questions from reporters.
Some renovations were done in April while it remained closed to reporters and other media workers.
The NEB started welcoming back reporters and other media workers in June. (PNA)
