Newspapering by faith - From The Stands

Yesterday was the sixth death anniversary of Betty Go-Belmonte, founding chair of the Philippine STAR. Betty was one of the people who influenced me a great deal, particularly in my spiritual life. She was the best model of a person who made her decisions based on the Holy Scriptures. A lot has been written by so many people about her, and yesterday I wondered how I could pay her a tribute without being repetitive. Then I remembered that I had written a column about her in the defunct Philippine Tribune in 1987; I decided to reprint it for today's column. It focused on her decision, at the height of martial law, to be co-chair of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. (Later she would leave it and join a powerhouse of journalists to found the Philippine STAR.) We had lunch in her home in Quezon City, during which she gave me a cooking tip, and that was that to make dishes taste savory, I should use slivers of ginger -- a lesson I've taken to heart. Here is that column:

NEWSPAPERING is such a costly enterprise that it attracts only the rich, the powerful, and the dreamer. The publisher sets out by saying he wants to give the public the information that it has the right to know. But everyone in the game knows that a newspaper can make money for the publisher, give him clout and power, and a great ego massage.

One is certain that Betty Go-Belmonte knows all the good and dirty things about publishing. She has put out the Fookien Times Yearbook for a good many years; she publishes STAR Magazine; she is co-chairman of the board of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. But to Betty, newspapering is an act of faith, as is everything that she puts her mind to doing. That makes her look like an oddity in the tough, searing world of publishing.

In fact during the Marcos years, Betty seemed like an oddball as she told audiences that the difficult times must be met by constant praying and communing with Divine Providence. Meanwhile, media persons including this columnist who shared platforms with her launched verbal assaults on Marcos, decried the absence of people's freedoms, and pressed for the dictator's deposition.

The EDSA "miracle" buoyed up Betty's belief -- and that of men and women in the charismatic groups -- that God was at work in the lives of men and of nations.

When Betty was 13, her mother told her to read a chapter of the Bible daily; but it was when she was 19 and needed to know if the man she wanted to marry was the right one for her, that her daily life of prayer and "asking for God's guidance" began. Every step of the way since has been done upon "guidance" -- the graduate work in Comparative English Lit at a college in Claremont, Ca.; small and major decisions (taking trips, investing in a business, opening Star Magazine; which people to put on the yearbook's cover; which church to attend; which people to meet during the week, etc.) Her decision to join Inquirer was made after a series of "divine consultations."

After a Chinese lunch last year, Mr & Ms. publisher Eugenia Apostol tried to interest her in investing in a daily newspaper. Betty said she would ask for guidance. The moment of truth arrived when she read Joel 2:18-24. The 24th verse said, "The pits beside the presses will overflow with wine and olive oil." Overflowing "presses" was the divine go-signal. One day in December, the Inquirer was out, with Betty's name in the staff box.

The Inquirer bloomed, but there was that fear in the alternative press that Marcos would close down the alternative press. The Inquirer's viability as a public trust hinged on the holding of the snap presidential election. A verse in Jeremiah said that any good and perfect gift came from God, and "neither shadow is turning." That, Betty said, meant go ahead with the Inquirer, and sure enough, the election was held.

The Inquirer carried, upon Betty's request, Bible verses, and she remembers that the verses that appeared in the issues of February 6, 7, 8 and 9 had been apt -- the February 6 verse told of God making a miracle "tomorrow"; God driving away the inhabitants of the land; giving thanks for the people's victory, and, on the 9th, of the nation's having a new leader.

Betty told Gen. Fidel Ramos that the Bible said he was Joshua, a soldier of peace, and the general had said, how was that possible when he was under General (Fabian) Ver?

The Inquirer is reported to have netted P5-million in March, so everything has been A-okay for Betty's "guided" investment. Last week, however, Betty tendered her resignation from the board. Her husband, Sonny, had been appointed chairman of the board of GSIS; a Business Day item had said that the appointment of an Inquirer officer's spouse to the position might affect the credibility of the paper. But that wasn't the cue for Betty to tender her resignation. It was II Corinthians 6:17, which reads, "And so the Lord says, `You must separate yourselves from them...' "

The days of Betty's life are spelled out in the Bible. "I put my life in God's hands completely," she says. "If God wants something to happen, He will make it happen."

Betty says that if God wants this column on her to come out, He will let it come out today.