I HAVE been part of Manila Standard since it came out of the press, first in tabloid form and eventually a broadsheet. My congratulations to everybody at the Standard, past and present.
I started as chairman of the editorial board and I am now chairman emeritus and columnist. I saw the Standard pass from one owner to another, always with the same vision to tell the truth without fear or favor.
It was the late Manda Elizalde who conceptualized the Standard upon his return from self-exile to Costa Rica, of which his friend and former Harvard classmate was president.
Manda moved to Miami, Florida and there called upon Rod Reyes to put up a newspaper upon his return. Manda said he wanted me to be part of the organization. And so I joined Rod.
The Standard’s first office was at the Tanduay Building on Ayala Avenue. How Elizalde returned to the Philippines despite his warrant of arrest, and how he passed through Customs and Immigration without a hitch, is of course another story.
We have had several editor-in-chief: Rod Reyes, Andy del Rosario, Cip Roxas, Jullie Yap Daza, Jojo Robles. The Standard is now under publisher Rollie Estabillo.
One of the reasons I have not left the Standard is that I have always liked working with all its publishers and editors-in-chief.
When I was in trouble with the Supreme Court, who cited me in contempt for exposing a decision that has not yet been promulgated, the Standard stood by me.
I argued that I had no fault because I was doing my job as a journalist. But the court cited me in contempt, anyway, as a lawyer and officer of the court. What a strange decision that was. I also remember that former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who was then only an associate justice, wrote a dissenting opinion on my behalf, where he upheld press freedom.
Nonetheless, the Standard’s support meant a lot to me. And this is also one of the reasons I am still here.
* This portion of Mr. Jurado’s column was first published on February 12, 2019.
