MANILA, Philippines — The assignment was straightforward enough: Take a picture of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in detention at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center chapel in Quezon City.

Since her transfer to the hospital in December, Mrs. Arroyo has proven to be an elusive subject to photo-graph. Authorities have taken strict measures to shield her from prying cameras, restricting media access at Veterans and putting up a tarpaulin blind at her quarters.

Shooting the former President was therefore a formidable challenge to photographers.

My photo editor thought we had a good chance at an exclusive photo after a golf caddy at Veterans tipped him that Mrs. Arroyo regularly attends mass at the hospital’s chapel.

The plan was for a Manila Bulletin photographer to slip into the chapel and with a hidden camera take pic-tures of Mrs. Arroyo.

Last Friday, Manila Bulletin photographer KJ Rosales arrived at the chapel, a small point-and-shoot camera hidden under his shirt.

Unfortunately for KJ, he stood out because, as he narrated later on, he was the youngest among the churchgoers, who were mostly elderly patients of the hospital and their nurses.

Worse, one of Arroyo’s security staff sat next to him, making it impossible for him to pull out his camera and start clicking.

The mission was aborted.

It was my turn at Veterans last Saturday. As part of the plan to make me less conspicuous, I brought along a friend and my niece. I exchanged my camera for an Itouch phone that had a built-in camera which I bor-rowed from another colleague, Chari Villegas.

We were the first ones to arrive at the chapel. Other churchgoers soon began trickling in.

A few minutes before start of the mass, the flashing lights of a police car announced the arrival of my subject. The coaster carrying Mrs. Arroyo, her husband Jose Miguel, and members of her staff stopped in front of chapel.

She wore a pink printed dress, white shoes and her famous neck brace. She and her husband went into the chapel and sat in the middle pew, surrounded by security officers.

I couldn’t concentrate on the mass because I was nervous and was trying to figure out how to steal a shot.

When it was time for the communion, Mrs. Arroyo was the first in line. I took out my Itouch phone. In my nervousness I forgot to enter a password to activate the phone’s camera. I wasn’t able to take any shot.

My last chance was to catch Mrs. Arroyo outside the chapel. After the Mass I ran to the exit in time to see the Arroyo couple shaking hands with other churchgoers.

And then, a stroke of good luck. Mrs. Arroyo was about to board the coaster when she spotted my niece. She turned back and went to her. “How old are you?” she asked. “I was looking at you when you were having communion.”

Mrs. Arroyo then patted my niece on the head and walked back the coaster. I started shooting.

I finally got my pictures.