TF on its 95th year
The Freeman has just celebrated its 95th year of public service. Three generations of public service, what a memorable achievement! No, we're not talking only of years of service but also of the quality of service. For in the corridors of those years lie the dreams of its founder (Paulino Gullas), the courage and fortitude its staff, past and present, and most important, the foresight and determination of the person who revived it after years of hiatus-Jose (Dodong) R. Gullas.
An educator by engagement, what was it that inspired Dodong Gullas to resurrect this paper? To an outsider that initiative looks simple enough but the truth is that it required a lot of guts and sacrifices to do it. In fact, as JRG confessed, his father, Don Vicente Gullas, was skeptical about it. "Dodong", the elder Gullas reportedly said, "what you are about to do cannot be easily undone. Like a toothpaste, once you squeeze it out, you cannot put it back." Surely, a less determined person would have backed out.
But not JRG. Armed with the desire to serve the Cebuano public through print media he ventured forth in a new educational adventure whose setting is not in the classroom but in various areas of the community where people thirst to get informed of events that affect their lives. This is a critical mandate for in a social order inspired by democratic precepts a well informed citizenry is a must.
Thought of this must have been in the mind of JRG when he breathed life into a publication which had lain dormant for more than four decades. But who were the inspiration of such thought? His uncle Paulino of course, who was a writer, creator and legislator, was one such inspiration. His father Vicente Gullas, also played a dominant role in JRG's decision because the former was a true-blooded journalist and publisher, having been a sports writer (of Cable News American) and later in 1914 as a sports editor of the Manila Daily Bulletin, and also having authored several inspirational books and academic materials.
The blood of a journalist is therefore in JRG's veins. No wonder even after some fifty years of direct involvement in the print media industry he is still very much upbeat as chairman of The Freeman board in the affairs of the paper. And no matter how busy he is as Executive Vice President of the University of the Visayas, he always finds time to interact with the paper's personnel to discuss strategies to make the publication responsive to the needs of the time. No wonder too that when an upheaval occurred among the paper's staff sometime in the early 1980's which threatened its very existence, he stayed sleepless for days as he led a small group of loyalists to ensure that not a single edition failed to hit the street. It was a challenging happening, for sure, but JRG's leadership qualities shine best in times of challenge, and Cebu's fearless newspaper has since then remained firm in its commitment to serve as the people's pulse in the Visayas.
That commitment to serve has never wavered even during the uncertain days of Martial Law when the authorities were poised to pounce upon the paper's personnel, including JRG himself, for their no-holds-barred treatment of news stories and commentaries during those days,
These obsessions of The Freeman has undoubtedly won the trust and confidence of the general public in the Visayas, the very reason why it has endured for 95 years, and most surely, for years and years in the future. Add to this is its tie-up with the Star Group of Companies, a nation-wide multi-media organization, and you can be certain that under chairman Dodong Gullas' watch and that of company president, Miguel Belmonte, Cebu's oldest and most seasoned newspaper is bound to endure.
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