Oral History of Eileen Mencias

August 10, 2008
Interviewer: Regine Denise V. Mendoza

MENDOZA: What lead you to be a journalist for Manila Standard?
MENCIAS: It was actually by chance… like galing ako’ng CRC, and then my friend went to Manila Standard. And at that time, CRC was going through changes and I didn’t enjoy it that much … it really isn’t fun to attend those long seminars and then you have to write something about it because you have these different seminars that last, siguro, they talk for two hours. It’s not really fun. Then my friend moved to CRC, and said “hey there’s an opening here in business, give it a shot”… and so I did. Ganun lang. By chance lang yun.

MENDOZA: So how many years have you been working for Manila Standard?
MENCIAS: (counting…) hmm… Too long! Around thirteen years

MENDOZA: What were the early years like when you first started out in Manila Standard?
MENCIAS: Kasi, it’s a different structure when you work as a reporter for a newspaper you cover a beat and my first beat was agriculture ...actually it’s a good first beat for business nga because it’s clear to you… maraming temptations, it’s hard to discern the wrong from the right, the true from the false… it’s harder to decern because if you look at the other businesses it’s just money. But in agriculture... Some reporters don’t think that agriculture is a good beat, but for me, I would think it’s a good place kasi it sets you on the right path. I was covering agriculture in 1995, that time, we had a rice crisis similar to what we’re having now... ang daming baptism of fire, so to speak. We had a rice crisis at that time that was an agriculture story worthy of report. And you ask about how much rice do you have, how much rice do you need, the simple math. And they realized, kulang. So kulang yung rice mo, kulang yung supply mo ng rice, tataas yung presyo... the guy who we were talking to did not want to be quoted, he did not want to give a number, so we just say na … "kulang ang rice natin!" Woohoo! Page one! Page one ako! Pero when I saw it, my boss gave a number which was a ridiculously high number I forgot how much he wrote, but let’s say - the shortage of the rice is a thousand tons, he did something like, ten thousand tons. The, you know… sabi ko “damn!”. You know that is wrong.

MENDOZA: Did they ask for a retraction?
MENCIAS: No, because at that time, it was… kung baga sa storya, may sarili na syang paa. Tapos tumataas na ung inflation tapos nasibak na ung agriculture secretary, pinalitan na. A retraction was wala na…. it was… okay. Eto na eh. In the total scheme of things, a retraction wasn’t necessary. At tsaka yung agri beat… sa agri kasi, it’s the farmers and malinaw kasi yung right and wrong. Kasi when they fight, they’re always shouting. In politics when they fight, you don’t understand what they’re fighting about.

MENDOZA: That was the time of Ramos?
MENCIAS: Yes, bringing down tariffs tapos, yun. Parang ako, they’re bringing down… when you bring down tariff, bababa yung price ng imports, hindi nakakacompete yang farmers mo. Your farmers need a safety net, and it’s not there, so malinaw lang. Malinaw yung tama at yung mali. Which is a good place to start in.

MENDOZA: So, is that what attracted you to writing for business and economics?
MENCIAS: For business? Hindi... ksai nga I thought that exciting, yung pag interview, at yung may mga dugu-dugo. Punta kami, meron kaming invitation. May naacidente sa SLEX, so sabi ko “tingnan natin kasi bago pa lang ako, hindi pa ako nakakakita ng accidente, tara gusto ko magsulat ng police story” O, tapos yung mga matatanda na reporters- “o, sige, sige bumaba ka”.

MENDOZA: How is Manila Sta-… Where is Manila Standard?
MENCIAS: Port area, Leyland bldg., Railroad street, Port Area, Manila

MENDOZA: Do you go there to write your stories?
MENCIAS: No, I haven’t been there… I only go there for meetings… uhm… usually I go there once, during Christmas. And then… If we have a meeting, that’s the only time. But we don’t usually have meetings…

MENDOZA: Okay, how are it’s facilities?
MENCIAS: Well… not very good. But we do have our own printing press. Kasi, like… for most… in print, in newspapers there are only nine. And before, they say only three are earning. I think it was Business World and, Star, Inquirer. Pero ngayon, Business World is in trouble eh. Kasi, nagkaroon sila ng problema daw, so dalawa na lang ata yung earning. They say, it’s the fight for fourth… that’s for the smaller papers, like us.

MENDOZA: Do you have a lot of people working for the newspaper, like correspondents, reporters?
MENCIAS: I can only speak for the business page, ha? Enough, I think… For every beat, we have enough. And usually, correspondents yung sa provinces. I think yung employees siguro naming two hundred fifty. But reporters… sa business siguro 10 lang, hindi ko alam ung sa… pero nakita ko… parang two hundred fifty yung employees.

MENDOZA: How are your working conditions naman? Your Hours? How many stories you have to write a day…?
MENCIAS: If you manage your time well, the hours are good. Except when they’re bad, they’re really bad. But sometimes you have an 8 o’clock, a 10 o’clock then an 11:30, then a 12 and then another one at 3pm, when it’s bad, it’s really bad. But, on a slow day, when there’s no coverage, ayun. It’s really slow. So… But if you really manage your time well, get your interviews, get your stories the times are okay.

MENDOZA: How are your editors naman, with deadlines?
MENCIAS: Ah, kasi ako. Anal ako eh. You tell me a deadline’s 4:00, I’ll give it to you at 4:00. Ayokong itatanong pa ako. Because if you do the Peso, the Peso kasi closes at 4:00, and you need the closing number, so you have to wait for that. So, pretty much okay, just manage your time. Tsaka, maskuskupan ka, at maskuskupan ka actually… but the thing is, pagmaskuskupan ka siguraduhin mo, storya mo masmalaki sa storya nila. If their story is a five million loan, make sure you have a fifty million loan. Eh ano ngayon? Basta alam mo, mine is fifty million.

MENDOZA: What’s the difference now, in terms of… with the business from Ramos to Arroyo?
MENCIAS: Ahh… Actually because, for businesses, it’s the same. It’s pretty much the same, the concern is on the bottom line. So, I don’t… tsaka sa business kasi maysipsip, may hindi. Yung hindi sipsip napapadala somewhere else. Pero, diba you just know it, you feel it instinctively, but sometimes you just cannot write it kasi wala ka… kasi ayaw mo lang ma-libel. Diba?

MENDOZA: Did you go through any crises? Let’s say Estrada’s time, when the economy was really low. How was that?
MENCIAS: Hindi kami yun eh, kasi, our newspaper is owned by Enrique Razon… Ricky Razon, if you notice, always has a picture with all the presidents. During Ramos’s time, he was chummy with Ramos. And siguro, during Erap’s time, he was chummy with Erap. He’s just… He’s a business man...

MENDOZA: But, your newspaper never went through anything like that?
MENCIAS: We’ve always had money problems… So even if they… we never had really, that many ads. I think, really, we’re just a tax break.

MENDOZA: Last question na po, what was your most memorable story?
MENCIAS: The one that I really, really love? I can’t think of one… Kasi, you go by the day... the ones (journalists) that I respect don’t do that. Kasi, you always look forward. And, recognize always, if you got scooped. Because that always happens. Recognize that you got scooped, and just, move it forward. Don’t just “Ahh, I remember that…” Parang ang engott mo, diba? As if naman ang galing galing mo. One of the guys I admire, he’s from the Inquirer. Ganun un eh, hindi un nag-o-O.A. na alam mo… tsaka nakasama din naming ung mga nag-o-O.A. ung mga “you know remember the time… yung ganyan tapos… “ Yeah, parang feel mo sikat ka. Engott mo, diba? (laughs)

Ms. Eileen Mencias majored in Mass Communication, in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. At the time of the interview she was a reporter for the business section of The Manila Standard Today.