Council lauds The Freeman for 'shaping the local media'

The Cebu City council yesterday approved a resolution congratulating The Freeman during its 87th anniversary and acknowledged the significant role played by the newspaper in shaping the local print media industry being the pioneer newspaper here.

Councilor Edgardo Labella yesterday said The FREEMAN remains steadfast on its commitment to press freedom so that the people will have access to a medium through which they can express openly, and petition for redress of their grievances.

"As a newspaper outfit, The FREEMAN has been proven to be a dependable ally in the noble cause to promote and safeguard the common good of the Cebuanos, at all times, by way of its free, fair and fearless brand of news reporting," the resolution read.

Beyond the realm of print journalism, Labella said The FREEMAN is an institution with a soft corporate heart for indigent patients with its charity arm - The FREEMAN Foundation - that provides medical assistance to the sick and needy, most especially children.

The FREEMAN, Labella added, has been an unwavering fierce promoter and defender of independence and freedom since its inception in 1919.

Paulino Arandia Gullas founded The FREEMAN in 1919. It folded up in 1935 and was revived on July 18, 1965 by the paper's current chairman Jose "Dodong" Rivera Gullas, the nephew of Paulino.

In 2004, The FREEMAN became a member of the Star Group of Publications, the mother company of The Philippine Star and Pilipino Star Ngayon, after Gullas entered into a strategic partnership with the Belmonte family. - Garry B. Lao