PSA to fete founding members

Seven of the founding members of the Philippine Sportswriters Association, including two former press secretaries, will be given recognition during the PSA Awards Night on Jan. 18 at the Holiday Inn Manila.

They are Teodoro Benigno, Rodolfo Reyes, Zacarias "Taby" Tabaniag, Ernie Singson, Rodolfo Pantaleon, Enrique "Pocholo" Romualdez and Tito Perez de Tagle.

Benigno and Reyes served as press secretaries in the Cabinets of former President Cory Aquino and President Joseph Estrada, respectively.

Benigno writes a column for The Philippine Star while Reyes is director of the Taiwan Economic Coordinating Council.

Tabaniag, 80, and a noted golf rulesman, still writes a golf column for the Manila Standard and serves as director of the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Singson, a top baseball writer, is now vice chairman of the Journal Group of Companies.

Pantaleon, former sports editor of the defunct Manila Chronicle, is now PR consultant of the Yuchengco Group of Companies.

Romualdez, who worked with the old Manila Times and Daily Express, is executive editor of Malaya.

Tagle, a former sports editor of the defunct Philippine Herald, writes a sports column for the Manila Times and is deputy secretary general of the Basketball Association of the Philippines.

The Awards Night, sponsored by Red Bull and Agfa with support from McDonald’s, will confer the Athlete of the Year award on golfer Dorothy Delasin, the first Fil-Am to win a leg of the tough US Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour last year.

Delasin, 20, eventually copped the LPGA Rookie of the Year honors.

President Estrada has been invited as guest of honor and will present the award to the PSA top athlete.