Jessica Soho: ‘Why naman?’

On August 15 my beloved mother Marita Salcedo Beltran would have turned 83 years of age, instead we will be observing her first death anniversary on September 12. With that in mind many memories come back to mind particularly during the traditional 3-day wake we held for her friends and family. It was a low-key, unannounced event in contrast to the 6-day wake and much-publicized funeral for our father Louie Beltran who was a well-known Print -TV- Radio commentator. As such we assumed that only family members and very close friends would be with us during our Mom’s wake and assumed that colleagues, acquaintances and associates won’t even know.

But that was one of the big surprises for me. The first to show up were not long time friends but people I least expected. They were those people who you hardly get to see, talk to or spend time with but had an uncanny timing and the ability to reconnect when it mattered most. One guest in particular was Jessica Soho the F/F Broadcast Journalist of our time. F/F alternately meaning Feared and Famous for her life - time contributions to Philippine Broadcast Journalism. Some people close to the Beltran Family call her the unrecognized “daughter of Louie Beltran” although we have not been “close” in spite of her closeness to our father, I suppose, she has earned that right after surviving years of being under the wing of her “Ka Louie.”

But whatever Jessica Soho has achieved as a professional goes beyond her association with our Dad. She learned well all the lessons given her in college. She paid the price for dedication to duty and calling, she took many risks, stayed strong and resilient against wave after wave of discrimination against gender and looks. Jessica also made very difficult and costly choices between her profession and personal life as a woman in a time when women were being told they could have it all. But now in the later part of her life, Jessica has received her just rewards in terms of respect, honor, as well as many awards both local and international.

With all this in the background, I was reminded of the wake last year when Jessica showed up at my mother’s wake. I appreciated the gesture but I was surprised given that there were no ties there. I actually told Jessica that I did not expect her visit to which she replied: “ Why naman?” That’s when it struck me that this multi-awarded, F/F Broadcast Journalist was a compassionate woman first and perhaps a celebrity last. I have known and worked with many of the toughest and prettiest women in the industry but only a handful manage to reach the pinnacle of success with their humility, sincerity and compassion intact because celebrity status is like excess baggage that will drag you down unless other people are carrying it for you. Jessica apparently has the same “Pusong Mamon” just like her Ka Louie.

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Your “Hater” could actually become one of your allies.

This was the lesson learned by LTO officials representing the different agencies and offices under the LTO-National Capital Region. Prior to attending their quarterly meeting, I received a call for help from one LTO official who was led to believe that a certain “Blogger” was a real “Hater” of the LTO. To support this claim, my contact sent a message on Viber of FB posts where the Blogger had posted complaints about an unlawful arrest and one complaint where a PWD had been denied the right to possess a driver’s license. As it turned out the Supposed “Hater” turned out to be my colleague TV host and Motoring Journalist Mr. James Deakin.

So I engineered things in order for James to join me at the quarterly meeting and familiarize how “Media” manages situations or complaints brought to them. James pointed out that the stories and complaints come from individuals who feel they have no other recourse but to turn to media in an effort to “publicize” (or as I interjected: Exaggerate) their grievance. The media in turn try their best to find some way of bringing or forwarding the information to the authorities. The problem gets complicated if like the public, we in media have no access or run into a wall because the concerned agency did not establish some means of communication or feedback. As a last resort, media turns to Facebook, personal or professional blogs in the hope that someone from government picks up the story, which is generally a simple re-telling of the story.

Unfortunately it is a common thing to observe that people in government react strongly, violently or defensively instead of simply treating the matter as another day at the office another minor issue that needs to be dealt with professionally. At this juncture, James and I were already working as a “Tag Team” teaching the LTO officials about social media, having a communications plan, having warm bodies to work on the LTO’s social media exposure. By lunchtime, James Deakin and Regional Director Clarence Ginto were already sharing notes and making plans on how to boost the LTO’s law enforcement operations and make the public aware of the many things that the LTO has been doing.

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Incidentally, the LTO recently entered into agreements with the NLEX and the SLEX to conduct Law Enforcement Operations. The initial run resulted in the flag down of several hundred trucks for overloading and the total average showed that 40 percent of trucks arrested were really overloaded. These runs have had positive results and suggestions are now on the table for the LTO and Toll operators to do a campaign against ignorant drivers who insists on staying on the left “passing lane” and drivers who turn on their hazard lights during heavy rains as well as trucks and trailers who have lights facing vehicles behind them. So lets spread the word: The LTO: Coming soon to a lane near you!

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