by Ma Arlene Gabon
At least 38 awards were conferred on as many awardees of the 4th Eastern Visayas Media Awards and Recognition of Media Partners 2023 held at Summit Hotel-Tacloban on December 2.
The Media Awards was the fourth staging of an event held annually, since 2020, by the Association of EV Media Without Borders Inc. (EVMWB—a Tacloban City-based organization of hundreds of tri-media journalists from across six provinces of Region 8 founded in 2017.
Philippine Star/The Freeman correspondent Miriam G. Desacada, founding president of EVMWB, said the Media Awards has been anchored on EVMWB’s mission of uniting journalists in the region, sustaining integrity and dignity in their profession, and upholding ethical and responsible journalism regionwide.
The Awards, notwithstanding its size and scope of presentation, is a way of encouraging journalists in our region to seek self-improvement and enhance their skills by honoring and acknowledging outstanding works and accomplishments in a particular year, she said.
Desacada added that it also recognizes the contribution and support of media partners, both public and private, within the year besides being always there with us in our undertakings from the start this day.
The selection of the awardees runs through a two-month-long vetting process by a panel of five judges selected from academe and the media sector whose identities are not disclosed to the nominees, much less to the entire organization, until the Media Awards Night, she further said.
For the 4th Media Awards, the guest of honor and speaker was House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan Jr., representative of 4Ps party-list, who however failed to attend due to pressing matters at the legislative Bicameral Committee in Quezon City that tackled the 2024 national annual budget before deadline.
He was represented though by his chief of staff, Christopher Sheen Gonzales, a former mayor of Guiuan, Eastern Samar. Gonzales read Libanan’s speech that conveyed his happiness and gratitude for being chosen as the EVMWB’s 4th Media Awards.
Libanan said EV journalists must overcome the huge technological challenge of today’s media, such as the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which bears the risk of plagiarism, creativity loss, atrophy of writing skills, misinformation and disinformation by strengthening the fact-checking mechanism already in place.
Awardees from the media were:
1) Jazmin R. Bonifacio of Rappler — Best Documentary in Digital Format award;
2) DYVL Aksyon Radyo Tacloban — Radio Station of the Year;
3) Brigada Balita Alas Syete of Brigada FM-Tacloban — Best Radio Newscast Program;
4) Jason Delmonte and Mel Pacia Trinida (Brigada FM-Tacloban) —Best News Anchor Partners;
5) Jason Delmonte (Brigada FM) — Best Radio Male Reporter;
6) China Patricia Rondina Lira (Bombo Radio Tacloban) — Best Radio Female Reporter;
7) Vince Banzon Vibas (Bombo Radyo) — Best Radio News Commentator;
8) Ma. Evita (Mama Mabeth) Rosario S. Manicani of FMR Tacloban — Best Radio Disc Jockey;
9) Tingog Naton sa Barangay (Infinite Radio), hosted by Ricky Brosas —Best Public Affairs Radio Program;
10) Ricky Bautista (Rappler) — Best Environment Story of the Year;
11) Elmer V. Recuerdo (The Daily Tribune) — Best in Health Story of the Year;
12) Lawyer Buenaventura Go-Soco Jr. (Opinyon 8 newsmagazine) — Best Columnist 2023;
13) Southern Leyte Times News (published by Atty. Reuvivar M. Reyes of Maasin City, S. Leyte) —Community Newspaper of the Year.
14) Lifetime Achievement in Journalism awardees:
a) Atty. Nick M. Esmale (news anchor and commentator of PRTV12 and FMR Tacloban). Broadcast journalist Jay C. Barrion (PRTV/FMR Tacloban, received the award on behalf of Esmale
b) Rolex A. Elmido (columnist of Sunday Punch, editor of The Tacloban Star, and former region editor of The Freeman-Cebu)
15) Exceptional Journalist of the Year award — Luisidro “Bong” Moscosa (broadcaster in E. Samar and GMA7 Region News stringer) for his independent effort to convince four NPA terrorists to surrender to the government troops and return to the fold of the law earlier this year;
16) Best Media Personality of the Year — Hancel G. Cuevas of PRTV12 and FMR Tacloban;
17) Posthumous Certificate of Gratitude — to the late broadcast journalist Larry Portillo “in recognition of his valuable contribution to the media industry of Eastern Visayas during his time as a radio station manager.”
The one who received the award for Larry was his twin brother Garry Portillo, who eventually won the grand raffle prize, a 7 cu.ft. refrigerator, put up by JimJim Yaokasin, manager of Toyota-Tacloban.
An adjunct event to the Media Awards was the Recognition of Media Partners, both from the public and private sectors, for their unwavering support of EVMWB and the regional members.
The awards and their respective recipients from Media Partners , whose nominees also underwent an uncompromising screening of their works and accomplishments through a select panel of judges, were the following:
1) Representative Yedda Marie Romualdez (Tingog partylist) — the region’s Most Outstanding Congressional Representative 2023;
2) Palompon Leyte Mayor Ramon C. Oñate — Most Outstanding Local Chief Executive of the Year. Phoebe Charis Albaño, municipal legal officer of Palompon LGU, received the award on behalf of the mayor;
3) Tacloban City government — Most Outstanding LGU of the Year award, which was received, on behalf of Mayor Alfred Romualdez, by his spokesperson Geron Ponferrada, also a TV broadcast journalist;
4) Major General Camilo Ligayo (8th Infantry Division commander) — first recipient of the KADASIG Award given by the EVMWB;
5) Colonel Manuel Degay Jr. (ex-commander of the 43rd Infantry Battalion) — Most Outstanding Military Officer of the Year award, received on his behalf by Major Carlo Brando C. Abiado;
6) Police/Colonel Hector F. Enage (director of the Southern Leyte Police Provincial Office) — Most Outstanding Police Officer of the region;
7) DSWD-8 Regional Director Grace Q. Subong — Most Outstanding Regional Director of the Year;
8) Dr. Nimfa Caparroso Kam (N. Samar Provincial Health Office) — Most Outstanding Health Worker;
9) Judge Cicero Lampasa (Regional Trial Court-Branch 27 in Samar) — Most Outstanding RTC Judge;
10) Prosecutor Romiel Paladapat (Maasin City Prosecutions Office) — Most Outstanding Prosecutor;
11) Jan Mei Naraja (Tacloban City’s Traffic Operation Management Enforcement and Control Office or TOMECO) — Most Outstanding Government Worker of the Year;
12) Atty. Leo S. Giron of Tacloban — Most Outstanding Private Law Practitioner;
13) Northern Samar Provincial Information Office (NSPIO) — Most Outstanding Public Information Office;
14) Jhon Allen B. Berbon (NSPIO head) — EVMWB Leadership Award;
15) Christine N. Gresola (BFAR-8) — Most Outstanding Regional PIO of the Year;
16) Eagles EV Region (headed by Jim Ariza Buranday) — Most Outstanding NGO of the Year;
17) Leyte Provincial Board Member Wilson S. Uy — Most Outstanding Businessman of the Year award.
Special awards went to the following:
1) Lawyer Emmanuel Relador (PhilHealth-8 Legal Division) — Best Dressed (Male) of the Night;
2) Arlene Honrales (supervisor of the Catbalogan City Schools Division Office-DepEd) — Best Dressed Female of the Night;
3) Tacloban City Councilor Rachelle Erica C. Pineda — Face of the Night (female);
4) Eugene Montano Enano (Catarman, N. Samar media) — Face of the Night (male);
EVMWBI founding president Miriam G. Desacada was conferred with a Plaque of Commendation from the Calbayog Journal (CJ) newspaper and Ace MultiMedia and Entertainment Productions Inc. in “recognition, appreciation, and gratitude for her dedication, and relentless endeavors in strengthening and upholding unity, integrity and ethical standards of practitioners in the media industry of Eastern Visayas.”
CJ publisher/editor Josephine Mendoza and Gonzales, Libanan’s congressional chief of staff, handed the long-deserved award to Desacada who almost singlehandedly bore the brunt of keeping the EVMWB running for six years since to this day when it is now fully registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a corporation.
Mendoza said Desacada founded the organization to unite the region’s journalists, strengthen and upgrade the profession in fulfillment of public service by the media, and in sustaining the standards of ethical and responsible journalism.
Desacada expressed her gratitude for the award, which surprised her, and made special mention of gratitude to JimJim Yaokasin, president of Toyota-Tacloban, for consistently supporting EVMWB and the Media Awards through the years.
She also thanked those who attended and lent their time as awards presentors, among them were Caibiran-Biliran Councilor Jasper Aldrich Earl D. Maderazo, Taft-Eastern Samar Mayor Gina Ty, PDEA-8 PIO Rogelette Urgel, former Tanauan-Leyte mayor Pel Tecson, UP-Tacloban Professor Ladylyn Lim Mangada and Irvin Theodore Fua Imperial.
Allan Amistoso, radio station manager of Magik-FM Tacloban, effectively delivered the event’s closing speech in which he rallied the journalists of the region to be united and stronger for a balanced and truthful dissemination of the news.