MANILA, Philippines?Suddenly, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is becoming more chummy with journalists in what appears to be an attempt at fulfilling her vow to be an easier subject to cover.

Arroyo on Thursday hosted lunch for Malacañang journalists at the State Dining Room, pumping hands with everyone and regaling them with her own anecdotes about the late Press Secretary Cerge Remonde.

Earlier, she fielded a flurry questions about Remonde in a surprisingly long ambush interview at his wake at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig before dawn Wednesday.

"She did promise to be more accessible, if you remember, at the Christmas party that we had. I guess with Secretary gone, she probably felt it incumbent upon her to be more visible,'' Undersecretary Gary Olivar said at a news briefing.

She was scheduled to host a dinner Friday night for members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, which in late 2008 aborted a press conference with her in protest of Malacañang's condition that political questions should be excluded.

She is also playing host to members of the Manila Overseas Press Club on Saturday.

At last year's Christmas party with the Malacañang Press Corps, Ms Arroyo vowed to make herself easier to cover in the remaining six months of her administration.

"I know I?m not an easy subject to cover, but I hope that in the remaining months of my administration, I?ll be an easier subject for you,'' she said.

Ms Arroyo has had a hostile relationship with the local and foreign media, helped no less by the fact that the country had become the most dangerous place for journalists under her administration.

She has been viewed as the most inaccessible of all Presidents in the post-Marcos era.

Olivar, deputy presidential spokesperson, conceded that it would be "helpful'' for Ms Arroyo to bring her message across, especially about her legacy, if she engaged the media more.

"We are, after all, at the stage of winding down the presidency and talking about, explaining her legacy; it would be very helpful and useful if she gets more actively involved in something like this,'' he said.

The President, however, isn't expected to face the media in a regular briefing, but planned to put in "more time'' to explaining her policies and legacy in other venues "involving the media,'' Olivar said.

"The President did make that promise to make herself accessible and I believe she plans to deliver on that promise,'' he said.

Last Thursday, Ms Arroyo tried to engage reporters in an animated talk about Remonde, who died of a heart of attack last Tuesday, a stark departure from her no-ambush interview rule.

"He had not been playing golf lately,? she told reporters before they were ushered inside the State Dining Hall. "I wonder why. I was told by congressmen-friends he played with that he was a pretty good golfer. He had a birdie and two pars.''

She also said she was happy to learn that Remonde had organized a Friday night dancing session with the reporters for health reasons.

Ms Arroyo used to chat with reporters in her foreign and out-of-town trips, but decided against it after issues discussed during these off-the-record sessions came out in the papers, according to some reporters .

In her out-of-town sorties, she granted interviews to government-run radio stations with the caveat that no political questions would be asked.