EDITORIAL - Aging is getting more challenging

The circumstances about the founding and revival of The Freeman are detailed briefly in an article written by Gullas himself, and which serves as the cover story for the anniversary supplement that comes with this issue.

Just like what the paragraph at the beginning of this piece says, our 93 years can mean a variety of things to our readers, our advertisers, and to the expanding community that this paper serves.

But to us involved in this paper, the 93 years represent the level of respect, trust, and acceptability The Freeman has gained from its public. And for that we are very much grateful and indebted. To all of you who made The Freeman possible, we say thank you and God bless.

It has to be admitted that the temptation is great to belittle the 93 in anticipation of the Big 100. There is a certain mesmerizing effect that the proximity of our first century can bring upon us all that, if allowed to distract us, can lead dangerously to complacency.

We cannot be too focused on the 100 without realizing that we still need the 94, the 95, the 96, the 97, the 98, and the 99 to get there. In other words, there are still seven big years that separate where we are now to where we want to be.

Those seven years pose a particularly challenging time for us. It is a period of time that The Freeman and all the people who call it home need to excel in if they are to make any celebration of the Big 100 meaningful.

For what is the joy and where is the pride in turning a century old if there is nothing to show for it other than age. This, therefore, comprises the challenge and the commitment of The Freeman to its public and to itself — to give the getting there the best shot it can give.

To be sure, the big hearts and strong helping hands of our bosses, Chairman Dodong Gullas and President and CEO Sir Miguel Belmonte, provide the inspiration and extra push toward making the paper hurdle these awesome challenges.

But the bulk of the work must be borne by those who come up with the daily product, they who make sure that what they sell is the best and meets the highest standards and most stringent expectations of its readers and advertisers.

It is work started 93 years ago, by people we have not even met or known. It is a legacy not only for the present to build on but to bring forward that it may gain greater respect, trust and acceptance by future generations. At no time has the way forward been harder, yet clearer.