How I got this job

As the Philippine Star marks 30 years this week, we’ve been requested to share our story related to being part of the organization. This is a welcomed opportunity to share how I came to be an Opinion Writer for the Philippine Star and how my “Genesis” set my course as well as style through the years that followed.

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I was not supposed to be there.

I was not a member and it was not the industry I was associated with professionally. In fact I had just quit my job at a TV station a few days back and the only reason I happen to be at the weekly meeting of the Tuesday Club was to counsel someone about a spiritual issue he had been grappling with for weeks. It just so happen that he would be in the same place and the same time so it worked for me. Little did I know that while I was counseling my friend on one side of the room, one of the Tuesday Club members, Butch Raquel of GMA-7 was already busy informing the publisher of Philippine STAR and founder of the Tuesday Club Max Soliven, that I had just quit TV and was officially “unemployed.”

For those who are not aware of it, Max Soliven was the publisher and “boss” of my dad Louie Beltran when they put up the Philippine STAR, and the two of them shared two historical things: first being fellow inmates at the Camp Crame Hilton when Martial Law was declared, and second as respondents to a libel lawsuit filed against them by President Cory Aquino because of the lines: the first (President) to ever have had to hide under a bed. They nearly went to jail for that one.

To say that the relationship of Louie Beltran and Max Soliven was “testy” at best is an understatement. I’m sure they shared the same passion for Journalism and love of country. But on many occasions, there was certainly no love lost between Editor and Journalist.

So as I continued to counsel a colleague about his choices in life, Mr. Soliven started tapping a water goblet to get everyone’s attention at the Tuesday Club venue in EDSA Shangri-la Hotel. I had to stop and curiously paid attention to what Manong Max was about to announce. Satisfied he had everyone’s attention, he cleared his throat and announced with authority: Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce the newest columnist of the Philippine STAR: Cito Beltran.

I’m not sure if Butch Raquel was the one who helped close my jaw that had dropped in utter surprise, but it was evident that no one expected the announcement, certainly not me. That moment I could only surmise that Manong Max was looking out for a former colleague’s unemployed son or perhaps he was led and used by the Lord to tell me that I was not going to get out of my calling to follow in my father’s footsteps, and that my ministry via media was going to carry on.

When I finally recovered and the crowd had thinned out, Manong Max Soliven called me over to his side and gave me what would effectively be his first and final instructions as “Publisher” and “Boss.” He told me NOT to write about politics because everybody was already doing that. Instead he encouraged me to write about “human interest” which is a subject that speaks to people and that I had a knack for as he saw me do my interviews on the talk show “Straight Talk.” That’s the reason why my first article was about Fireflies in a bottle, my little daughter Hannah, and a “mock-up” of a Porsche 356 and how dreams begin from that.

I really didn’t break the mold or tradition that Opinion columns should be hard-nosed and political, it took a hard nosed political commentator named Max Soliven to know that commentaries about real life and human interest are just as relevant if not more important than politics. Manong Max Soliven not only opened a door of opportunity that rarely opens to many, he also set me on a path that today defines much of my style as a columnist and for this I am very grateful to Max Soliven.

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If my adoption and employment at the Philippine STAR came as an unexpected surprise, my meeting with Miguel Belmonte was without doubt a pleasant surprise as a professional. I have held a number of jobs and worked here and in the US but in all those times, none of the owners or senior bosses ever arranged to have lunch with me to talk about the company, the job as well as to hear out any concerns, questions or thoughts I may have about being a columnist. Perhaps it was because I was generally a “Go-fer” in most positions.

It was certainly a first for me that “the man in-charge” made time to sit down and give me an orientation that I only read about in management books but never had the good fortune of experiencing. What Miguel Belmonte managed to convey in that simple act was that the Philippine STAR is a professional organization, manned and led by professionals who take time to help new team members to understand and establish themselves. He succeeded in showing me that this initial step was so important that he personally made time to do it and it was how they showed respect for the people they engaged.

To this day, that informal but official orientation over lunch remains vivid and impressive to me as a journalist, management consultant and a person. This I believe is why the Philippine STAR has managed to sail steadily and successfully, because the people at the helm do the work and take personal responsibility.

On our 30th Year…Cheers to the Team!!!!

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Email: [email protected]