SATURDAY / DECEMBER 9, 2017 WWW.INQUIRER.NET
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25-year service awardees
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20-year service awardees
Inquirer honors 57 service awardees in its 32nd year By Meg Adonis Photos by Leo M. Sabangan II
Inquirer Chair Marixi R. Prieto
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here is a certain pull at the Inquirer that makes its employees stay for five, 10 and even 30 years in its service. “We stayed in the belief that we were doing something that matters, that we were part of an institution critical to nation building,” said acting Regions editor Robert Jaworski Abaño. Speaking on behalf of his fellow 20-year awardees at the 2017 Inquirer Employee Service Awards on Dec. 7, Abaño recalled historic events all over the world and in the Philippines that happened in 1997—the year that he, along with 20 others, finally called the Inquirer their home. Twenty years later, they now find themselves protecting and upholding the credibility and legacy that the past editors have worked hard to establish. “We are duty-bound to protect its legacy as the leading light in the fight against wrongdoing, oppression and tyranny,” he said. “Whether at the frontline or in the background, we are witnesses to history as it is drafted by Inquirer reporters and polished by its editors.” Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) chair Marixi Rufino-Prieto, known as MRP in the Inquirer, lauded the 57 service awardees for “keeping the faith and [continuing] to be critical and fearless.” With the uncertainty ahead of the Inquirer, MRP asked the awardees to keep the paper’s legacy burning. “Whatever the future may bring, promise me that you will continue the legacy … and make it even greater,” she told the awardees in Edades Function Room at Aruga by Rockwell.
15-year service awardees
5-year service awardees
Hosted by editorial production assistant Matthew ReysioCruz and Metro reporter Krixia Subingsubing, the service awards was aptly themed “Staying True at 32,” honoring the Inquirer’s employees who have stayed with the No. 1 newspaper in the Philippines for five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years. Indeed, the Inquirer’s loyal employees have been a witness to the struggles that PDI has faced and endured. MRP’s daughter and PDI president and chief executive officer, Alexandra “Sandy” Prieto-Romualdez, asked everyone to stand and form a circle as one family, thanking everyone for each of their own contributions in making the Inquirer what it is today. “For [all of you] who missed family gatherings just to be able to chase after important stories that shaped the nation in one way or the other, changed policy, corrected wrongdoings, highlighted … anomalies that were going on, know that the Philippines is better because of the work that you’ve done,” she said. Dark times News editor and 30year awardee Artemio “Jun” Engracia Jr.
10-year service awardees
took the awardees and guests even further back into history; the year when the country was just recovering from a long period of darkness. “The year 1987 was a turbulent one in our country’s history … The Inquirer was in the thick of things not only as chronicler of this transition but also as an active participant in the momentous, and sometimes convulsive, events that shaped this important part of our history,” Engracia said. One can say that Engracia was born into the newspaper business; he had “printer’s ink in my veins and newsprint in my cereals,” first working as a newsboy for the family business, only to get fired because of wrong deliveries. But now, the News editor finds himself down to his 30th year with the company—along with Eligio Fugaban, Cynthia Balana and Constantino Tejero—with the title he has long dreamed of having attached to his name. In between the laughs and cheers during his speech, he admitted that he also dreaded his 30th year because it meant nearing the time when he would bid farewell to the people he considered his family, with whom he ate dinner and spent his Christmas more than with his own blood. But it only meant that amid the obstacles that the Inquirer has faced in the past
and in the present—when fake news is prevalent—he remained steadfast in giving the Filipino people the truth that they deserve. “The Inquirer has had its ups and downs. But I am most proud of this great newspaper when the chips were down; when it had to reach out from the depths to remain true to its mandate … Today, more than ever, I am proud of the Inquirer,” he said.
WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE
ON ITS 32ND ANNIVERSARY Contact Numbers: (02) 890-0181 / (02) 832-3145 www.dagxpress.com