President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos opened the Presidential Photojournalists Association’s (PPA) “In Focus: Marcos Presidency” photo exhibit on Thursday at the Likhang Filipino Exhibition Hall in Pasay City.
Ahead of World Photography Day on August 19, the exhibit documents four years of the Marcos administration while honoring photojournalists for preserving the nation’s history.
PCO Acting Secretary Dave Gomez, PPA President Noel Pabalate and Pasay City Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano welcomed the First Couple. Marcos and the First Lady joined the ceremonial unveiling of a newspaper-style collage title board designed by PPA’s Marianne Bermudez, graphic artist Oteph Antipolo and Pabalate.
Before touring the exhibit, Marcos was presented with a framed title board collage, while the First Lady received a crystal podium featuring a 3D photograph of the couple.
The exhibit showcases official engagements, public interactions and foreign summits captured by photojournalists from major outlets, including The Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, Abante, The Manila Times, Police Files, Manila Standard and Daily Tribune.
Pabalate emphasized the exhibit’s role in highlighting professional photojournalism’s value alongside emerging technology and social media.
“We feel that we are endangered in this field kasi maraming AI, social media. Ang dali nang maglabas ng pictures. This is to tell that there are still professional photographers who can do something different from those what we always see sa mga posting lamang ng mga netizens,” Pabalate said.
Founded in 1986, the PPA consists of accredited photojournalists dedicated to truthful visual documentation of the presidency. The exhibit runs free to the public from August 14 to 30 (10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Mondays).