“I like being with friends and I like the vision of this newspaper”
ON FEB. 11, 2025, the Manila Standard will mark its 38th anniversary, and it has its own story to tell.
I recall Manda Elizalde of the Elizalde clan, during the proclamation of 1081, on Sept .21, 1972, who was then chairman of the PANAMIN (Presidential Assistant on Cultural Minorities), went on self-exile.
Prior to that, there had been charges filed against Manda by his political enemies for alleged sexual abuse of women of the minorities which he allegedly kept on his yacht.
Recall that Manda discovered the Tasaday, in the highland rain forests of Central Mindanao, living as cavemen. Elizalde became famous worldwide for that discovery which was featured by the National Geographic Society.
More out of envy than anything else, Manda’s political enemies filed charges of sexual abuse on minority women against him when he ran for the Senate, and he lost in the elections.
Thus, Santa Banana, to avoid arrest, Manda went on self-exile to Costa Rica where his former college classmate overseas was the president.
After Manda’s friend was deposed as president of Costa Rica, being a country where coups are prevalent like many other countries in South America. Manda ended his self-exile and went to Florida to reside.
From Florida, he called up Rod Reyes, a well-known journalist of the pre-martial law Manila Times to put up a newspaper.
Reyes, my bosom friend, then called me up to help him put up the newspaper that Manda wanted.
After two weeks of meetings, Rod Reyes and I decided to put up the newspaper which we called “The Manila Standard.”
Rod and I decided to have our first edition in tabloid form to make it different from the already established broadsheets, and we chose the date of the first edition to be on Feb. 11, 1987.
Rod Reyes and I had a long relationship with Manda before that because we helped him when he became Chairman of PANAMIN and when he ran for the Senate when then strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. was president.
Rod Reyes became the editor-in-chief with yours truly as chairman of the editorial board.
Julie Yap Daza (now with the Manila Bulletin), Nestor Mata (the well-known sole survivor of the plane crash on Mount Manunggal in Cebu on March 17, 1957 which killed then president Ramon Magsaysay and 24 other passengers) and I were the Manila Standard’s columnists.
After the first week, advertising agencies complained that they could not advertise with us because of the size of the tabloid, unlike with a regular broadsheet.
Thus Rod and I decided to upgrade the newspaper into a broadsheet form, like what it is today.
After several months of publication, Manda started complaining that he was losing money. Thus, Manda wanted to sell the newspaper. He wanted to sell it for P5 million, and he found a buyer, the SORIAMONT, then headed by Andres Soriano Jr.
Another investor of the SORIAMONT was Ricky Razon, who was then beginning with his ICTSI (International Container Terminal Services, Inc.) and Alfonso Yuchengco, who had his own group of companies.
After a while Yuchengco pulled out of SORIAMONT because the firm did not want to get involved in the running feud with businessman Robert Coyiuto, who then acquired the former Lopez-owned Manila Chronicle.
Another chapter of this story was when Teddy Boy Locsin became Secretary of Foreign Affairs and decided to fold up his newspaper, the “TODAY.” He wanted the Manila Standard to absorb his staff, a plan that could not work.
When the Sorianos totally pulled out their businesses, including San Miguel, from the Philippines, Ricky Razon was left owning the SORIAMONT.
After a while Razon decided to concentrate on his firm ICTSI, Razon decided to sell the Manila Standard to the Romualdez brothers, Philip and Martin.
Philip Romualdez finally decided to have his brother Martin, now Speaker of the House of Representatives. owning the Manila Standard.
That is the story of the Manila Standard newspaper which I have been with for the past 38 years.
I had been invited to write with other newspapers but I decided to remain with the Manila Standard. I like being with friends and I like the vision of this newspaper.