"The CMMA has lived up to Cardinal Sin’s vision—encouraging mass media workers to uphold and promote Christian values through outstanding work."
I feel nostalgic about my friends who have passed on: Antonio Cabangon Chua, Leonardo Siguion-Reyna and Ka Imon Cuevas.
I also realized it was Tony’s birthday last Aug. 30. The following day, Aug 31, was the birthday of Jaime Cardinal Sin, who was Tony’s good friend.
Today a legacy of that firm and strong friendship continues in the Catholic Mass Media Awards. Both Tony and Cardinal Sin believed in the power of mass media in bringing about social and spiritual renewal and transformation.
Establishing the CMMA in 1978, Cardinal Sin described the awards as “a tribute to those who are serving God through media.”
The CMMA has lived up to Cardinal’s vision for over 40 years, encouraging mass media workers to uphold and promote Christian values in the most outstanding way.
In this, the Cardinal had the full support of Tony who was named CMMA president and chairman in 2000. He held the position until his demise on March 11, 2016. Tony’s efforts to inspire mass media workers to promote love of God, love of truth, respect for the environment, love of life and Filipino ideals continue under the leadership of his son, D. Edgard A. Cabangon, who is the current chairman.
I wish the CMMA success!
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I am reminded of the time I organized PATAS, the Pambansang Akademya sa Telebisyon sa Agham at Sining in November 1973, after my stint as founder and first president of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas. The KBP is very much alive today.
I heard from some insiders that the annual awards given by several bodies were actually dictated by the producers and directors themselves, together with talent and account managers, and entertainment columnists. I had the idea to pattern the annual awards after the Oscars. Judges would be from the various sectors in the industry: performers, technicians, artists, producers, network executives, advertisers, government. I was with Bobby Benedicto-managed Channels 2, 4, 9 and 13.
I met with producers, directors and workers of the industry, heads of mass communication programs in universities, etc. They bought the idea.
I had a plan for mass communication graduates to take their practicum in the different TV stations. GMA 7 was already operating that time.
We organized the Board of Trustees with Press Secretary Kit Tatad as chairman, with the following members: Greg Cendena, Antonio Barriero, Quintin Pastrana, Jose Carpio, Antonio de Joya, Fr. Alberto Ampil, Francisco Joaquin, Ray Pedroche, Freddie Garcia and myself.
We also had a special Board of Advisers: Teodoro Valencia and Elizabeth Lorenzana Diaz.
The first PATAS awards were given on April 29, 1976 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. I recall there was a rally at that time organized by some entertainment columnists and talent managers who used to control the awards, We called the PATAS Awards the Sinag Awards, symbol for outstanding artistic and technical achievements.
Our big mistake was having the late Father James Reuter, a Jesuit, as our guest speaker. He lambasted the PATAS as an attempt of the Marcos dictatorship to control the media.
Reuter’s speech spurred the critics of PATAS to mount more rallies against us.
As a result, many PATAS members resigned. It was on this occasion that I decided that it would be best to discontinue PATAS.
That spelled the end of a big dream for me.
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Newspaper reports claim that about a hundred prison inmates released through the GCTA are now abroad. The Philippine National Police has sought help from Interpol.
I believe this is fake news. How could the convicts have left without their passports? The Department of Foreign Affairs should immediately clarify whether the passports of these individuals were indeed issued to them so soon.
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President Duterte has lost a lot of his credibility after he fired Bureau of Corrections Chief Nicanor Faeldon and then said he was an honest and upright man.
I have been asking around what people think of the President’s remark on Faeldon. They say President Duterte has been selective in applying the rules on his friends and on his enemies.
To my mind, even if Faeldon had no hand in the corruption at the bureau, he was still incompetent. Imagine not being aware of what is going on in your agency!
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The decommissioning of armaments of members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as a result of the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, as far as I am concerned, is a farce.
In Muslim culture, clans often fall victim to rido. Moros love their firearms. The joke is that a Moro would rather sleep with his gun than with his wife.
Sure, almost a hundred firearms have been surrendered. But are these the modern, sophisticated kind? I suspect those high-powered guns will remain hidden. Without guns, Moros are considered hopeless.
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