"It's a calling, not really a profession."
"It's a calling, not really a profession."
The year 2020 is significant for me, because this year I mark my 70th year as a journalist.
It was in 1950 when an Oblate of the Order of Mary Immaculate came to the old Ateneo de Manila, by the ruins of Padre Faura. He was Father Cuthbert Billman, asking for volunteers to Cotabato City to continue with the weekly publication of The Mindanao Cross. This paper was distributed all over Mindanao and Sulu—and was a must-read for all students of Notre Dame Colleges.
Our Class of 1950 was the last to graduate from that campus. At that time, it was our class that handled The Guidon, the school news organ. In fact, my former classmate, Rudy Tupas, who became editor of the Manila Times and ambassador to Libya, was chosen to edit The Mindanao Cross.
I was Rudy’s associate editor at that time. Thus, I became Fr. Billman’s second choice for The Mindanao Cross.
That was the first time I got my feet wet in journalism. I had to cover every beat from the police to the governor’s office. My beat also included Cotabato City’s Office of the Mayor and everything in local government.
The Mindanao Cross was known as the “Little Newspaper with a Big Cause.”
I never left this calling. In 1956 I joined the Philippines Herald, among the major mainstream media at that time (the others were Manila Times and Manila Chronicle).
My being business editor of The Herald was a bit of good luck and the will of God. When I presented to then-editor in chief Felix “Judge” Gonzales a letter from the Herald’s owner, Don Vicente Madrigal, to hire me, Gonzales said: “I hate Ateneans.”
Still, he pointed to a desk close to his own. “That’s your desk and typewriter. You are lucky because the former business editor has taken a leave to prepare for the Bar.” My gulay, there I was, a new lawyer (I had become a lawyer in 1954) taking the place of a newspaperman who wanted to be a lawyer.
Indeed, journalism has been more of a calling than a profession.
I never expected to be a multi-millionaire. I simply had a yearning to make a difference, no matter how small or insignificant.
I would say being a lawyer also helped me in becoming a newspaperman. But it did not help me with any of the 17 libel suits that were filed or were threatened to be filed against me. In four instances I had to apologize because I was wrong. In five instances I was brought to court, even as the cases were eventually dismissed.
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I am launching my memoirs, “The Road Never Ends,” on Jan. 30 at the Manila Golf and Country Club. In it, I expound why journalism is truly a vocation. I also relay my message to journalists who will come after me.
In life, there is no substitute for good education, hard work, patience, perseverance and faith in God. All these are in my favorite prayer, “Serenity.”
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
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If there is one thing I like about President Duterte despite his obscene language, it’s the fact that deep inside, he is a patriot who truly and deeply loves his country.
This is evident in his tit-for-tat reaction to what some US senators did—wanting to ban the jailers of opposition Senator Leila de Lima. There is also a ban on US senators responsible for this from entering the country, and a requirement for all Filipino Americans to secure visas to enter the Philippines.
Malacañang has clarified, though, that balikbayans will not need a visa.
Clearly, these American officials have been misinformed and are ignorant of the rule of law and due process.
The problem of most American legislators is that they still believe the Philippines is an American colony.
I also admire the President for deciding against accepting Trump’s invitation to Washington. It would be the head of a vassal state paying homage to the Great White Father.
Many of Duterte’s critics may think differently about him, but his patriotism is lacking in many Filipinos.
(As for De Lima’s detention, having been allegedly involved in the trading of illegal drugs by no less than convicted drug lords, she had it coming. It’s karma, really—what goes around, comes around. Recall that despite a Supreme Court decision that affirmed former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s right to travel, she was prevented from leaving the country and was kept on hospital arrest for four years during the presidency of BS Aquino. De Lima was then secretary of justice.)
I believe that his patriotism is one of the reasons most Filipinos continue to give Duterte high trust and satisfaction ratings.
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I can relate to the admonition of Pope Francis that people should talk more to each other instead of being on their cell phones all the time, even during meals.
Sometime ago, my wife and I had dinner at a popular restaurant, and all around us were tables occupied by couples who were not talking to each other.
This reminds me of an incident when my wife was invited to lunch by one of her friends. The friend kept talking to others on her cell phone. My wife then asked her friend—“Did you invite me to talk or will you keep talking on the phone?”