STAR’s Arcalas, Best Agriculture Reporter for 3rd straight year

MANILA, Philippines — The STAR’s Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas won the Best Agriculture Reporter of the Year award at the 35th Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP)-Ayala Business Journalism Awards held on Nov. 6.

It marked the third straight year Arcalas won the award and the fifth time in nine years.

The 35th EJAP-Ayala Business Journalism Awards with the theme “Entry Into the Golden Decade” recognized the best works of economic journalists published in 2025.

Arcalas, who joined The STAR in 2024, currently serves as a correspondent for The STAR’s business section, covering various economic sectors. He transitioned to a correspondent in late 2025 after becoming a full-time journalism instructor at the University of Santo Tomas.

Other winners are Manila Bulletin’s Derco Rosal (Finance Reporter of the Year); The Manila Times’ Niña Myka Pauline Arceo (Banking Reporter of the Year and Macroeconomy Reporter of the Year) and BusinessMirror’s VG Cabuag of (Capital Markets Reporter of the Year).

BusinessWorld was named the Business News Source of the Year after winning three awards: Sheldeen Joy Talavera (Energy Reporter of the Year), Justine Irish Tabile (Trade Reporter of the Year) and Ashley Erika Jose (Telco-Transport Reporter of the Year).

BusinessMirror’s Lorenz Marasigan won the Feature Story of the Year.

The awards night was graced by no less than Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman of Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate.

“Journalism is a difficult profession, given its many requirements: the persistence needed in chasing leads and sources, the rigor required in checking every datapoint and, perhaps most importantly, discipline it demands in wielding the tremendous power it holds in shaping public opinion,” Zobel said in his keynote speech.