On January 31, 1987, I put to bed the last issue of the Philippines Daily Express as its last managing editor. Almost a year earlier, the revolutionary government of President Corazon Aquino had sequestered the daily newspaper, which was owned by Marcos crony Roberto S. Benedicto and widely perceived as the mouthpiece of the Marcos regime.
Immediately upon its sequestration, many of my fellow senior editors abandoned ship and went on to become editors-in-chief or managing editors of newly revived or newly formed publications, such as the Manila Times, Manila Chronicle, Daily Inquirer, Daily Globe, and the Daily Tribune. I was one of three senior assistant managing editors of the Express. The managing editor, Neal H. Cruz, moved on to become executive editor of the Daily Tribune and later the Daily Globe. Senior assistant managing editor Rolly Fernandez moved to the Manila Times as managing editor, and senior assistant managing editor Noel Cabrera moved to the Manila Chronicle also as managing editor.
I opted to stay along with executive editor Pocholo Romualdez, and was named managing editor. I started my journalism career as a sportswriter and pioneer reporter of the Daily Express when it first published on May 7, 1972, and rose through the ranks. I felt a bond and loyalty to the publication.
From the first day of sequestration, the government-appointed board of directors, including Sen. John Osmena and Rep. Lorna Verano-Yap, insisted that we toe the line and stop criticizing the Aquino administration, or they would be forced to close the newspaper.
During the Marcos regime, Filipino journalists had to work under constant threat of persecution, and in the first few years of martial law, everybody toed the line. But gradually, we tried to stretch the patience of the dictatorial regime. Now that freedom was supposed to have been restored by People Power at EDSA, we who were left at the Daily Express felt we were entitled to the same freedom, and should not again cower to threats and intimidation by the new government. My executive editor, Romualdez, agreed and allowed me to continue criticizing in our opinion pages the Aquino administration, which was then beginning to revert back to the follies of patronage politics and government corruption, and to disappoint the forces at EDSA.
In the last week of January, we were eventually told by the Osmena and Verano-Yap-led board of directors that the sequestered company would cease operations starting February 1. After 15 years, the newspaper that nurtured my journalism career would soon be gone. We were not surprised by the announcement, but were nonetheless worried about our jobs and saddened by the closure decision. But we went on to do our job, including criticizing the backpedaling Aquino government, up to the last issue on January 31, 1987.
The next day, I was at the Makati offices of the new Manila Standard as its first managing editor. Within days, we put out the first issue of the new publication, which has now merged with Today newspaper to become the Manila Standard Today. After two years, I moved on to become editorial consultant of the Philippine Star group and later as managing editor of the Philippine Times Journal.
I narrate this facet of my 37-year career as a professional journalist because I am feeling a sense of déjà vu now that I am putting to bed the first issue of the Pinoy Weekly, just one week after I put out the last issue of Ang Peryodiko, which had to cease publication after almost 10 years of dedicated, and if I may so, excellent service to the Filipino community of Southern California.
Ang Peryodiko folded up under entirely different circumstances. The Daily Express was closed down by a hypocritical government pretending to have restored freedom to the Filipinos, while Ang Peryodiko succumbed to the difficulties that are now forcing many newspapers, particularly the small community publications, to downsize or close shop.
Print journalism has reached a crossroads. Threatened by the increased popularity of the internet, online publications, blogs, the ever-increasing printing costs, and falling advertising revenues, many publications, both big and small, have greatly downsized or have been forced to cease publication.
But I firmly believe community publications, such as those catering to ethnic publications and small town newspapers, will continue to thrive because of their special service and ties to the community that they serve. Small businesses and those targeting special groups, such as the ethnic communities and small town neighborhoods, will continue to advertise in these small publications, rather than in the internet.
Filipino publications are rendering a special service to the Filipino community by updating them of the news and events in the homeland, publishing news and events involving the Filipino community in the United States and in their respective cities, and providing a forum where opinion writers, community leaders and readers can express their views on matters affecting their homeland and their community here in their adopted country.
It is only fitting that the Filipino community should support Filipino publications, such as the Pinoy Weekly, in any way it can, specifically by placing advertisements of their businesses. Most Filipino publications are given away free, and are dependent on advertising. Many publishers wish Filipino readers would be willing to dish out even a quarter or a dime for a copy, but under the circumstances, that may be wishful thinking.
In any case, as a professional journalist, it is my ardent wish that Filipino readers and Filipino businesses would continue to support their community publications, especially in these difficult times of community journalism.