Decades as a journalist

"I have seen history in the making and walked the corridors of power."

The other day when I had nothing much to do, I started becoming nostalgic and recalled my over seven decades as a journalist. I had wanted to become a lawyer and be a litigation lawyer like those movies of old when lawyers defended the poor.

Yes, I became a lawyer after my four years at the old Ateneo de Manila at the ruins of Padre Faura, passed the Bar in 1954 and even became a professor of some law subjects at the old Philippine Law School.

A stroke of fate somehow changed my plans to be the kind of lawyer I had wanted to be. After my Bachelor of Arts graduation, an Oblate priest from Cotabato City from far-off Mindanao came, and asked our Jesuit priest if some adventurous Ateneo graduates could try his luck to invigorate the Oblate missionary newspaper, The Mindanao Cross, which used to be a weekly periodical, now a daily.

Rudy Tupas, my classmate, was the first to raise his hand, and then pointed to me as the second volunteer. Rudy was my editor-in-chief at The Guidon, our Ateneo college newspaper, with me as his associate editor. Well, I did volunteer because I was one of those adventurous spirits curious enough to go to Muslimlandia, which Cotabato was then, and is still now. The weekly The Mindanao Cross was part of the Oblate’s missionary work.

I stayed on in Cotabato for two years as associate editor and acquainted myself with the rudiments of putting out a weekly with an antiquated flatbed that the Oblates had. Santa Banana, I was even sued for libel when I called a doctor of medicine a “quack doctor.” Not yet being a lawyer I was reckless. Anyway, Oblate Father Cuthbert Bulman, my boss, made me apologize and that was the end of it.

My gulay, I made headlines in some newspapers in Manila which picked up my expose about the controversy in connection with the Muslim yearly pilgrimage to Mecca involving a Muslim congressman. That Muslim congressman became my very good friend afterward, when I also reported his defense on the reported anomaly. Manila newspapers also picked it up.

I consider my stint on Cotabato not only a learning experience, but God’s blessing because I met the love of my life, who later became my wife, Trinidad K. Capistrano.

On my return to Manila, I became a professor of English, history and literature in high school at the new Ateneo de Manila in Loyola Heights. I was also teaching the old Philippine Law School at that time.

Soon enough I became a junior partner of the old Salonga and Padilla office. Somehow, being a lawyer did not excite me as much as I had imagined. I wanted to go back to journalism.

In 1956, another stroke of good luck came my way when I was hired by Don Vicente Madrigal to work at the Philippines Herald, and became its Business Editor to replace its outgoing editor who wanted to pass the Bar. Santa Banana, I who had passed the bar became an editor to replace someone who wanted to become a lawyer!

In any case, when I was business editor, I soon became the president of the Business Writers Association (BWAP), got an award as the “Best TV Commentator” of weekly business news I had a commentary program over Channel 13, and soon also got an award for my radio commentaries over RMN.

Did I say I was reckless? Yes, I did and soon got married to the love of my life in 1955. My gulay, I did not have a job.

But with God’s blessing I got that job as a Business Editor when I started getting paid at P250 pesos a month. Still, it was a living. I stayed on at the Philippines Herald at P250 a month which was quite high at that time until the late Bobby S. Benedicto offered me a job at KBS (Kanlaon Broadcasting System) as vice president of public affairs where I made good with my public affairs TV programs, which were also award-winning.

When martial law was declared on September 21, 1972, by a stroke of good luck I co-founded the 365 Club with the late Ka Doroy Valencia. The 365 Club has been in existence for 49 years now, and meets weekly via Zoom every Saturday.

Oh yes, I believe I also contributed my bit, no matter how small, when during the Martial Law days, when I became a member of The Media Advisory Council (MAC) then headed by the late Tibo Mijares with Rey Pedroche in charge of radio broadcast, and myself was then president of the Manila Overseas Press Club in charge of foreign correspondents.

As a member of the MAC, I realized the predicament of the media on censorship, especially with broadcast, radio and television, and with the foreign correspondents. I sought the help of Buddy Tan, my general manager at KBS and also Juan Ponce Enrile, who is administrator of martial law to organize radio and television to be self policing. My plan was to get broadcast out of the ambit of martial law. I also was able to convince Marcos to allow foreign correspondents to write what they wanted about martial law since Marcos could not stop them anyway. That was the beginning of the lifting of censorship.

Thus, I organized the KBP (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas) and became its first president. The KBP is still alive and kicking up to now as the organization of all radio and television nationwide. I would like to believe that both the 365 Club and the KBP are testament to my small contribution to the freedom of the press, which is the “Holy Grail” of every journalist. To a journalist, freedom of the press is as precious as the air we breathe.

I am now 93 years old going 94, and I will not change my more than seven decades as a journalist for anything. My being a lawyer has helped me a lot in analyzing issues and problems that confront the country.

Being a lawyer has helped a lot. In fact, the Supreme Court cited me for contempt for writing about an unpromulgated decision. I wrote that expose as a journalist, but the High Court cited me for contempt because as a lawyer I violated the rule of writing about an unpromulgated decision. To me, that contempt, second time actually, was a lot of nonsense because the justices knew I was writing as a journalist. Up to this time I cannot accept that ruling.

In that case, I became famous when the “In Re Jurado” contempt case became a Bar question. To his credit, then Associate Justice Reynato Puno, who later became Chief Justice, dissented in that case.

At this late stage of my life, I guess I will continue writing my bi-weekly column. While I had the chance to also write for other newspapers, I like writing for The Manila Standard because I like the people which comprise its staff, and I like the visions and goals of this newspaper, I would not like it any other way.

In my over seven decades as a journalist, I must say, I have seen history in the making, walked the corridors of power and have seen the best and worst of national leaders.