Book on the Philippine Jesuits since The Restoration bags IABC Gold Quill Award

A coffee table book on the mission of the Jesuits in the Philippines has earned for the country a Gold Quill (Award of Merit) from the prestigious International Association of Business Communicators this year.

On the March, with Fr. Jose S. Arcilla, SJ as principal writer, edited by John Nery and co-published by Manuel P. Engwa and Ramoncito Ocampo Cruz of Media Wise Communications / Muse Books, was recognized for “exhibiting high-quality writing and superior production values,” according to the IABC awards committee.

The book chronicles the Jesuits’ ministry of education and the many aspects of their apostolate in the Philippines as they bring the faith to the most remote corners of the archipelago.

“On the March presents memories of the struggle and glory of the Jesuits who came by boat, hiked up the mountains, rode rickety rafts, went on horseback and then on foot to reach distant and sometimes treacherous missions,” said co-publisher and Media Wise president and CEO Ramoncito Ocampo Cruz.

While there were setbacks and unexpected twists and turns, there was always a sense of constant movement in the Jesuit mission, Cruz added.

Cruz received the award last June 11during the 2019 IABC World Conference in Vancouver, Canada.

On the March is a fund-raising project for the Philippine Jesuit Aid Association, which helps elderly, retired and infirm Jesuits. PJAA is headed by Fr. Jose Quilongquilong, S.J.

“This honor is not just ours alone,” Cruz said. “It shows that Filipino firms, even small ones, have the talent and the discipline to deliver world-class results.”

Media Wise is one of only five Filipino teams to have been given the Gold Quill by IABC: Jollibee Foods Corp. and Stratworks, Inc., Aboitiz Group, PAGEONE Group and Center for Health Solutions and Innovations Philippines, Inc., and ABS-CBN Corporation.

This is Media Wise’s second Gold Quill from the San Francisco-based IABC, with this year’s winners coming from 10 countries.

Two years ago, Media Wise received its first Merit Award for yet another book on the Jesuits, Jesuits In Mindanao: The Mission. This book also won the Philippine Quill Award of Excellence for Publications under the Communications Skills Division at the 2013 Quill Awards, and another at the IABC Asian Pacific Silver Quill Awards held in Singapore in 2017.

IABC’s Gold Quill Awards have recognized excellence in strategic communication worldwide for the past 40 years. Since 2008, there have been 4,451 projects entered in the Gold Quill Awards.

“Only exceptional work earns an IABC Gold Quill Award,” said Cindy Schmieg ABC, IABC fellow and chair of the awards committee.

“GoldQuill Award winners demonstrate a mastery of all elements of strategic communication and have measurable business results to prove their success,” said Stephanie Doute, CAE, executive director of IABC.

This year, On the March is the only entry from the Philippines under the Publications category, which falls under the Communication Skills division.

“The book is well-organized, consistent... from the beginning to end. It flows well. It’s clear that [Media Wise] brought together the right mix of interviewers, writers, designers and publishers to produce a high-quality communication vehicle,” said the committee.

“Its heavy use of photography, art work, and post-production treatments make most of the spreads in the book an invitation to dive in and learn. This book is easy to flip through and dive into the stories on every page.”