“DI kailangan, kapatid ko, ang magbukas ka’t bumasa ng pilosopiya, o nang teolohiya at iba pang karunungan upang maranasan mo ang kadakilaan nang Dios. (You don’t have, my brother, to have to open and read a book on philosophy or technology or other sciences for you to experience the nobility of God)” – Marcelo H. del Pilar
Plaridel is the nom de plume of Marcelo H. del Pilar, a writer, lawyer, journalist, and a freemason. Along with Graciano Lopez Jaena, they became leaders of the Reform Movement in Spain. He was a staunch critic of the Spaniards and after his quarrel with the parish priest over exorbitant baptismal fees, he was suspended and jailed in 1869. After an order of banishment was issued to him, he went to Spain. From there, he succeeded Lopez Jaena as the editor of the La Solidaridad. Following his bout of tuberculosis in Barcelona, he died in 1896, the year which marked the beginning of the Philippine Revolution in Pugad Lawin. That same year, eight provinces in the Philippines were placed under martial law by the Spanish Government under Ramon Blanco. Those provinces included Batangas, Rizal, Cavite and Nueva Ecija.
Plaridel embodied zeal and passion of writing, while he sought reforms from the Spanish rule in the Philippines.
Here in the United States, 2015 marks the fourth Plaridel awards, held at Fort McKinley restaurant in South San Francisco.
Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. said that the Plaridel is a form of “encouraging Filipino-American journalists to practice their craft for the purpose of helping create a safer and more equitable world. I would also like to take this opportunity to commend the Philippine American Press Club-USA for its efforts to provide news and information to the Filipino-American community and to stimulate discussions about relevant issues.”
Esther Misa Chavez, president of the Philippine American Press Club, USA acknowledged that “this institution is our collective accomplishment, built by all the journalists who have submitted their work, by publishers who have encouraged their reporters, correspondents and producers, and by judges who have devoted uncompensated time and whose only reward is the knowledge that they are helping keep Filipino American journalism to a high standard.”
For the Asian Journal, this year’s editor, Christina Oriel encouraged the writers to submit their stories for Plaridel consideration. The result: Malou Liwanag-Bledsoe, Christina Oriel, Agnes Constante, Allyson Escobar and myself became nominees in various categories.
Christina was nominated in Best Youth Voice, Best Profile Writing, Best Tourism Feature Story and Best Entertainment Story; Agnes was nominated for Best Youth Voice, Best News Story, Best Feature Writing and Best Profile Writing; and Allyson Escobar was nominated for Best Youth Voice, Best Food Story, and Best News Story.
I was nominated for Best Personal Essay, Best Profile Writing, Best Commentary/Editorial Essay and Best Investigative/In-Depth Story.
Malou Liwanag-Bledsoe was nominated for Best Food Story and Best Sports Story, “Philippines in the International Cheerleading Stage,” as the sole female writer in this sports category, along with Myles Garcia, “Before Elorde, Before Pacquiao, There was Luis Logan,” Anthony Maddela for “Jordan Clarkson, the Lakers’ Fil-Am Sniper,” and Emil Guillermo, “Basketball’s Mt. Pinatubo erupts again – Lincecum throws a 2nd No Hitter.”
In all, the Asian Journal’s writers got six Plaridel Awards: three awards were garnered by Allyson Escobar for best youth voice, best food story and best news story, Agnes Constante got two Plaridel awards for best feature writing and best profile writing, while Christina Oriel got the best tourism feature story.
Other outlets like Positively Filipino, Inquirer.net, and Balitang America/TFC got awards. As in prior years, Positively Filipino was a favorite amongst the judges, as our paper.
For Best Investigative/In-Depth Story, given to series which identify and explore issues relevant to Filipinos in America, I was nominated for my two part series on: “Lillian Galedo’s Clarion Leadership: Styled by Openness, Sacrifice and Progressive Social Change.”
Patricia Araneta of Positively Filipino, on her “T-Boli: It’s Better to Weave Than to Leave” was also nominated.
Cecile Ochoa got the Plaridel Award for her piece, “DACA – Confessions of a Formerly Undocumented Youth,” which she thanked Advancing Justice-LA for securing the interview. The story appeared inInquirer.net, edited by Rene Cirria-Cruz. In her acceptance speech, Cecile stressed the importance of the Plaridel Awards in highlighting relevant community stories, which are original, based on actual interviews, research, and elevating the quality standards of journalism, away from “cut and paste.”
For Best Youth Voice, given to reporting by young people, 16 to 24 years old, about their broader communities, three Asian Journal writers were nominated: Agnes Constante for “Filipino Cultural School: Preserving and Promoting Philippine Heritage and Identity Through the Years”, Allyson Escobar for “Passion Planner: Creating Your Life Journey in a Notebook” and Christina Oriel for “Through Telemedicine, Apl.de.Ap and Dr. Thomas Lee are Keeping Premature Filipino Babies from Going Blind.”
Plaridel Award was given to Allyson Escobar and in her acceptance speech, read by Michael Nitro, she expressed her gratitude as well as how she was inspired by her 94-year-old grandmother who instilled the joy of writing. Allyson also got the Best Food Story for “Cooking Hawaiian Style: The Art of Island Cuisine” and the Best News Story for “LA Mayor, Homeland Security Chief Urge Undocumented Immigrants to “Step Forward.”
For Best Profile Writing, given to personality profile, with emphasis on choice of subject, quality of writing, research input and scope of interview. In this category, Myles Garcia’s “Love Baskets for Betty,” and Anthony Maddela’s “Above the Law Blogger David Lat Goes Long Form were nominated.
The Plaridel award was given to Agnes Constante’s “Carlene Bonnivier: Retracing Her Filipino Roots and Enriching Cultural Identity,” over three Asian Journal writers who were also nominated: Christina Oriel’s “Rheena Mae: Crafting Pieces Inspired by You,” Malou Liwanag Bledsoe’s “Building a Strong Voice for the Fil-Am Community in SF and Beyond,” and Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz’s “Self-Worth Powers: an Immigrant’s Dream,” a feature on Abigail Zelenski.
For Best Feature Writing, given to the story with focus on the choice of topic, the quality of writing, research input, unique perspective and relevance to the target market, Agnes Constante’s “Lovelyn Marquez-Prueher – The First Fil-Am Teacher of the Year for California” got the Plaridel.
Other nominees were Myles Garcia’s “Good Help is Hard to Find: The Improbable Story of Huguette and Hadassah,” Christina Peczon Rodriguez’s “The Life and Times of an Absentee Mother,“ and Christina Oriel’s “Series on Female Filipinas Who Champion Entrepreneurship” and “Social Products: Why Mindanao’s Black Rice is the Next Superfood.”
A special category, Best Tourism Feature Story, Sponsored by the Department of Tourism, was given to the most unique or convincing article on why “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.” Our editor, Christina Oriel, in her acceptance speech, highlighted the Philippines’ islands, its landscapes, its people, their unconditional hospitality and why all these strengths make for more fun in the Philippines. Her story, “Huma Island: An Island Hideaway in the Tropical Paradise of Busuanga” won the award over Senen Siasoco’s “Positively Pinatubo” and Manuel Hizon’s “11 Great Beaches you Probably Haven’t Been To.”
For Best Commentary/Editorial Essay, the awards honors the best editorial or commentary by a columnist, editorial writer or independent contributor, and the Plaridel went to Emil Guillermo’s “Are you Charlie Hebdo? Or Just Charlie Adobo?” over my opinion-editorial on “Unmuzzled Voice of Leadership: Snuff Out the Fires with Truth and Justice.”
For Best International Reporting, the award honors the best reporting on an international issue related to Filipinos or the Philippines, and Plaridel went to Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, on his first-hand report on “My Battle with Ebola,“ chronicling how he trained medical professionals on how to autoclave medical waste. He endured less than spartan living conditions. After his work in Africa, even though he did not test positive for the virus, as a safety precaution, he went into a self-imposed quarantine of 21 days.
Best Entertainment Story went to Lisa Suguitan Melnick, for her story on “Maseg: An Artistic Tempest,” Best Sports Story to Myles Garcia, “Before Elorde, Before Pacquiao, There Was Luis Logan,” Best Personal Essay to Lotis Key for “Feeding My Filipino,” Best Community Reporting in Television to Rommel Conclara for “Grandson and Grandma Create Memories Through Art,” and Henni Espinosa for “Pinoy Mortician,” who accepted the award and acknowledged the subject, the crew and how with the right story, it was done in 30 minutes.
Other community reporting in television nominees included Troy Espera, Ricky delos Reyes, Giselle Tongi, Rachelle Ocampo, Adonis Tagala and Paul Henson.
The Robert Henry Memorial Award went to Allan Alvarez. Torchbearer Awards went to ABS-CBN and Philippine Consulate in San Francisco, whose Consul General Henry Bensurto, Jr. spoke for about half an hour on the territorial disputes between China and the Philippines on the West Philippine Sea.
Brian Flores, an anchor of KTVU, keynoted for five minutes on his lineage, as his dad, Ernie Flores, Jr., also a journalist both in the Philippines and in the US, started “The Filipino Press” in National City, California.
Reflections
Kudos to publishers of the Asian Journal, Cora and Roger Oriel, whose values of community, harmony and love of country, still animate the writers’ stories to stay relevant.
As for me, I write to advocate for positive social change. I write to challenge policies that no longer serve the family, the community, the country and the world. I write simply to be, true to my core, to be a voice for those marginalized, to be a platform for those deprived, and lastly to celebrate the unsung heroes of our community.
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for Asian Journal Press for 8 years now. She contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in the field of science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium and Mexico and 22 national parks in the US, in pursuit of her love for arts.