THE month of September is special to me. Today is my birthday—I am now 89—but many other important things happened to me in September. They are memorable in my life as a journalist.
The late strongman President Ferdinand Marcos issued Proclamation 1081 placing the whole country under Martial Law at midnight of September 21, 1972. I was appointed as member of the Media Advisory Council—a three-man group to handle media censorship. I handled foreign media while Primitivo Mijares handled print and Rey Pedroche handled broadcast.
I was reluctant to accept the job, but since I was then president of the Manila Overseas Press Club, the oldest organization of local and foreign journalists set up in 1945 by foreign correspondents, I had no choice.
Later on, I noticed that censorship of foreign media encouraged more speculative and negative stories about Marcos and Martial Law. Foreign correspondents were writing from Hong Kong. The MAC lasted only for a month or so.
I offered to resign, but when Marcos became convinced that censoring foreign media was counter-productive, he ordered us in MAC to relax our censorship of foreign media.
While censorship of foreign media was relaxed, broadcast (radio and television) were still under the ambit of Martial Law. At that time, I was then public affairs manager of Bobby Benedicto’s Kanlaon Broadcasting System which consisted of radio and television companies: RPN-9, BBC (Banahaw Broadcasting Corp.), Channel 2, IBC-13 and government radio TV network (GTV).
To get off broadcast from the ambit of Martial Law, and with the approval of then-KBS general manager Buddy Tan, I thought of organizing the country’s radio and television companies to be called KBP or Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas. I became its first chairman-president. To the credit of Marcos, he did not object since it became a self-censoring organization, with its own set of rules and standards
The KBP is alive until today. It is a vibrant organization of radio and television networks.
I also co-founded the “365 Club,” with then press icon and columnist Ka Doroy Valencia and the late Makati Mayor Nemesio Yabut. The story of 365 Club is something for the books. The Wall Street Journal featured us in its front page as “a very unique organization composed of all sectors of society, who just love to talk while having their sip of coffee at Manila’s Hotel Intercontinental in Makati.”
The 365 Club, which now meets every Saturday morning at Holiday Inn Suites, is an organization of journalists, politicians, businessmen, professionals and plain hangers-on. Everybody has his own story to tell.
At about one o’clock in the morning of Sept. 22, I got a call at my residence at Philamlife Homes, Quezon City. The chief security of RPN-9, where I was then public affairs manager, frantically said over the telephone: “Sir, na Martial Law na tayo. Proclamation 1081 is plastered in front of the building that all media outlets, including radio and television should stop operating until further orders. I was told to call you, sir.”
There were already rumors, weeks before. This was because of the threat of communist and Muslim insurgency.
Hurriedly, I took off for RPN-9 along Roxas Boulevard at that time, and had to go through several checkpoints manned by the military personnel along Edsa to reach RPN-9.
When I reached RPN-9, I was told to join Benedicto at nearby Savory Hotel—now Midas Hotel. I didn’t feel like joining the group since I knew they would just be concurring with everything he would say or do, so I decided just to mingle with the RPN-9 staff in front of the network.
At past five o’clock in the morning I decided to go home—but thought of having coffee or a snack at Hotel Intercon. When I entered the coffee shop, I saw at a round table Mayor Yabut, Valencia, businessman Pat Dayrit, BIR official Joe Viterbo and Biding Sibug. At another table, I saw Yabut’s bodyguards and beside them was a big duffel bag.
Yabut told me that he was ready to be arrested and that he had Ka Doroy as some kind of “insurance” so that nothing would happen to him. I decided to join them and Yabut told me that the Camp Crame generals wanted him to answer for the death of Delfin Cueto, who was rumored to be very close to Marcos.
That was already about seven o’clock in the morning when Ka Doroy told me to call all member of the press to gather at Hotel Intercon. He would take care of breakfast and snacks, he said. Yabut smiled and said, “Ako naman taya,” knowing that it would be he who would foot the bill.
So, when breakfast was over, I went home, and started calling all media members to take up Ka Doroy’s offer. But, at about 9 o’clock, I got a call again from RPN-9 because Marcos wanted to go on television to announce the proclamation of Martial Law and get introduced by then Press Secretary Kit Tatad. Thus, hurriedly with the camera staff and with Babe Romualdez as anchor person, we rushed to Malacañang. There I saw, Kit scratching his leg while introducing Marcos. Kit was obviously nervous.
Marcos then went on air explaining what Martial Law was all about, and why he had to do it.
After a month or so, Yabut who used to hang out at the jeepney coffee shop of Hotel Intercon told me that his finance officer was already complaining that the bills given to him by the hotel was getting too big. Some members of media were not only having breakfast for free, but also having lunches and dinners, with some of them bringing their families. This prompted Ka Doroy to issue what he called Proclamation 1082, where Doroy said that henceforth from that date, everybody who joins in at 365 Club would pay for whatever he consumes.
When Ka Doroy Valencia died in 1976, I assumed chairmanship of the club being a co-founder, a position I now hold as chairman emeritus. I designated businessman-sportsman Alfonso “Boy” Reyno Jr. as president, having the financial capacity to help the club. I also designated former Senate President Johnny Ponce Enrile to be honorary chairman since his presence during the Saturday’s sessions of the club gives it dignity and integrity.
This coming Sept. 24 (Saturday), 365 Club will mark its 44th anniversary. We are proud to have lasted this long.
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As for my birthday today, I believe I’m really blessed by God for reaching the sunset of my years. It must be my genes since my late mother, Margarita Paris, died at 96 in her sleep, still healthy and with a clear mind. She never stopped scolding my late elder brother, Willie, and going to Quiapo church carrying everything in her bag, including her old prayer book.
As for me, at 89 years old, I can still write my column, and attend board meetings. I thank God for my health.
As for the 365 Club—I believe it will last for another hundred years.