Carrying forward a legacy, sharing fellowship

Last Sunday, I lost a loyal follower of this column and a subscriber of The FREEMAN. Allow me to begin today’s piece by expressing my deepest condolences to the family of the late Teresita Uy Cruzet. She was the mother of my high school batchmate, Rhodessa, and is survived by her husband, Rodrigo, and daughters Rhodessa and Rhona.

When I started writing for this paper as a columnist nine years ago, I was probably like many writers, struggling with insecurity. I had been a reporter and later an editor, but I never really considered myself a writer or essayist, much less the creative or expressive kind. It was Rhodessa’s occasional encouraging text messages, telling me that she and her mother read and always followed my column, that helped me through.

When I asked Rhodessa’s permission yesterday to express my condolences in this column, she texted: “My mother was a huge fan of your column because your writing makes sense.” Thank you, Rhod. I still cringe at being considered a writer, so the least I can do is produce a coherent piece in plain language that conveys my intended message.

Once again, my deepest condolences to the Cruzet family of Sambag II, Cebu City.

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As I write this on a rainy Friday morning, I was at the first Juan Mercado Memorial Lecture entitled “Investigative Journalism in Cebu: Then, Now and in the Age of AI” at the Seda Hotel, Cebu Business Park. The event was supported by Nickel Asia Corp., Converge, and Seda, and organized by STET: Women in Cebu Media, an organization of Cebu women journalists, both active and retired.

The lecture honored the legacy of Juan Mercado, a Cebuano journalist known for his in-depth reporting and fearless commentary. Mercado passed away last July 16 at the age of 94. He was a founding member of the Philippine Press Institute and the Cebu Citizens-Press Council, and was described by his peers as “a fearless voice against corruption and injustice in his opinion columns.”

His son, Joe Mercado, delivered the keynote speech, connecting his father’s legacy to the urgent challenges of today’s media and information environment. My key takeaway from his talk is that the kind of principled, fact-based journalism the late Juan Mercado practiced is more crucial than ever in combating the forces of disinformation. When the public can’t distinguish between facts and false narratives, they grow cynical about all sources of information, including legitimate ones. Public accountability is eroded, and the community becomes polarized.

The lecture-forum also featured John Sitchon, Rappler multimedia reporter and author of “The Road to Royina Garma’s Den.” John shared how he uses today’s technology in investigative reporting to uncover what would otherwise remain hidden from the public. I know John as an officer of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. He has covered for Rappler some of the public-interest cases I’m handling, and I’ve always been fascinated by his boyish yet matter-of-fact demeanor --fearless, focused on getting the facts, and disarmingly straightforward.

The event yesterday morning also featured the launch of Cherry Ann T. Lim’s e-book, “Cybersex, Troubled Fish, Tokhang and Other Stories”, a compilation of her award-winning special and investigative reports. Before the launch, Cherry, an award-winning journalist and former SunStar Cebu editor-in-chief, delivered a lecture entitled “Special Reporting: Protecting Our Tomorrow.” Congratulations to STET: Women in Cebu Media for pulling off another successful Cebu Press Freedom Week lecture-forum!

I would also like to thank the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) for inviting my students to the forum last Thursday, September 25, entitled “Media, Publicists, News Sources: Friction, Cooperation, Collusion” with Atty. Frank Malilong Jr. as moderator. The panelists --Atty. Ruphil Bañoc, Jason Baguia, Ferliza Contratista, and Atty. John Rey Saavedra-- brought different vantage points, from legal, academic, public relations, and advocacy perspectives. I appreciated that the conversation was not confined to abstract principles but was grounded in the Cebu media experience. This made the issues nuanced, relatable, and pressing.

Last Wednesday evening, the Clubhouse, Club Filipino Inc. de Cebu at the FGU Building in Cebu Business Park was jam-packed with Cebu columnists enjoying fellowship and good-natured banter. It was the most well-attended columnists’ gathering I’ve joined since the annual fellowship was initiated by Press Freedom Week organizer Michelle So two years ago. Congratulations to the organizers, and thanks to First Gen Corp. for supporting the event.