Freeman, Banat staff join protocol seminar

Editors, reporters and photographers of The Freeman and Banat will undergo a half-day " Seminar on Diplomatic, Official and Social Protocol " by the Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday, July 10, at the University of the Visayas audio-visual room.

The editorial staff will be joined by marketing and advertising personnel of both papers as well as selected members of the faculty and administration of UV.

Freeman editor-in-chief Jerry S. Tundag requested for the seminar, through the office of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Francisco L. Benedicto, in anticipation of the Asean Summit scheduled for December here in Cebu.

Tundag said only very few journalists in Cebu, if at all, have had any actual experience in covering an international event of this magnitude and significance, making the seminar on diplomatic, official and social protocol an absolute necessity for them.

The seminar will be the very first of its kind to be held in Cebu for journalists and is expected to provide mediamen with a wealth of knowledge upon which to base appropriate conduct in the course of covering the summit.

Angel H. Espiritu II, the protocol officer at the office of Undersecretary Benedicto, will be conducting the seminar.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. The heads of state of these countries, as well as a variety of ministers, are expected in the summit. The leaders of other non-Asean nations who have an interest in the region have also signified their intention to participate.

The Freeman and Banat are members of the Philippine Star Group of Publications.