Model for excellence

CEBU, Philippines - This year’s GMA Network Excellence awardee from Cebu, 20-year-old King Anthony Yap Perez, knows there remain scores of Kristel Tejadas all over the country who yearn to complete an education yet agonize over how to pay their tuition fees.

Tejada is the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila freshman who grabbed headlines last March after killing herself, when she was forced to take a leave of absence because of her failure to pay the tuition due to poverty.

If Perez would come across a student suffering the same predicament and contemplating to take the same tragic way out, he said he would “enlighten the person that he or she is not the only one experiencing problems with her educational finances.”

He added, “I think many students can feel what is happening to our system of education. It’s not just UP that is clamoring for change or an increase in state subsidies. Even private universities implement tuition hikes. I heard in UP Los Baños they have what is called tsinelas fees for P200. I would tell that person that it’s not a reason to die, but rather we should learn the root of the problem and help spread awareness about it.”

This is just one of the social ills that Perez hopes to help combat through his chosen field of Mass Communications. The recent graduate from UP Cebu marched away with Cum Laude honors during his university’s commencement exercise last April 24.

A day before that, he would receive the good news that he was selected over another classmate-nominee to be this year’s recipient of the GMA Network Excellence Award which “honors outstanding graduates of broadcast-related courses including electronics communications engineering from select universities who have demonstrated exemplary leadership, technical skill, and academic performance.”

He is the fourth awardee and the first male since the search was extended here in 2010 through UP Cebu. For the recognition, he received a plaque and a P10,000 cash reward from the Kapuso station.

“I just presented who I really am. No pretenses. My efforts as a student and student leader were recognized by a prestigious network, so it feels great,” he said.

Perez went to high school at Cebu Eastern College. An aspiring lawyer, he was decided on taking up Political Science, but changed his mind to Mass Communications upon enrolment.

“Information today is powerful and very important to each one of us, so much so that there are groups fighting for freedom of information. Journalism is the business of telling the truth, and I think my skills as a writer will contribute to society. Mass Com is also my stepping stone to hopefully take up Law in the future,” he said.

Aside from the GMA-7 award and finishing Cum Laude, Perez considers another college highlight was when he took part in the May 2012 Japan-East Asian network of exchange students. He represented the Philippines in Japan, where he immersed for 10 days.

He recalls, “We went to many cities and met different people. We also visited Iwate [Prefecture], the tsunami-stricken area.  My thesis was actually inspired from my Japan experience. Iwate was a ghost town and you’d see how destructive the tsunami was, but they were able to recover after a short period of time. Here in our country however, our risk and reduction management is still an emerging priority. My thesis assessed the risk and reduction management program of the local government unit of Brgy. Mabolo which is prone to flooding.”

Perez grew up with a keen interest in news and current events, having picked up the habit from his parents of reading the papers daily and watching TV newscasts. Now that he’s done with school, he hopes to nail a job in the media industry.

“I had my TV internship with GMA-7 and I learned a lot especially from my superior Allan Domingo. I had a great time observing him cover the Court beat which is very challenging,” Perez said.

A coordinator for Kabataan Partylist, Perez admitted there was initial reluctance on his part to enter media because “the condition in the Philippines is very challenging based on my learnings in school. An example would be the Maguindanao massacre, which was a grave threat to press freedom. But then again, I would like to step up to the challenge.”

He is also aware that media work will not provide the big bucks most fresh graduates and professionals dream about.

“Our professors have always told us that if we choose to become media practitioners, we should not expect to get rich. We’ve accepted that fact. I hope we will be able to maintain our idealism to serve society through writing, and not be constrained by the hard reality of low pay.”

Of the media personalities he looks up to, Perez lists GMA-7 reporter Kara David and Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s Malou Mangahas. “I like how Kara David portrays different images of society. My favorite documentary of hers was ‘Ambulansyang Paa.’ If given the chance, I would also like to make documentaries. I also admire the in-depth works of Mangahas,” he said.

How does one become an exemplary student like him? School kids take note. “It’s just time management. I didn’t just focus on academics, I was also involved in our Student Council. I was a councilor and Vice-Chairperson consecutively. You need to make necessary sacrifices, such as sleeping very late. There were consecutive weeks when I would sleep for only 3-4 hours. Lastly, it boils down on your disposition as a person. I have the passion and enthusiasm to learn, so if one really makes an effort to balance academics and extra-curricular activities, then it can be achieved.” Photos by FERDINAND EDRALIN