Every September, Cebu’s competing media outlets make time for one another during Press Freedom Week. We sit down with stakeholders, including Journalism students, to talk about press freedom, the issues facing the news media, and the information the people receive. We also meet for lunches and dinners, and this year even found time for a pickleball tournament.
These activities would not have been possible without the support of Cebu’s business community. The people who read, watch, and listen to us give businesses a reason to advertise in local media. Businesses reach that audience, while their support helps media outlets and events like Press Freedom Week continue.
What strikes me most, though, is how Cebu’s media community comes together. The rest of the year, we compete for stories and audiences. During Cebu Press Freedom Week, reporters, editors, broadcasters, and columnists from different outlets spend time together.
I joined the annual gathering of Cebu columnists last Wednesday at the Oakridge Executive Club along A.S. Fortuna Street. Called “Panaghiusa, the Cebu Columnists Fellowship Night,” it began in 2023 as the brainchild of my former editor and good friend Michelle P. So. Michelle is now a respected name in public relations and corporate communications, connecting corporate brands with regional media. This year, First Gen Corp. and Vivant Corp., both in the power industry, came together to support the gathering.
The following day, September 24, 2026, I spoke at a forum on the cost of clickbait journalism organized by The FREEMAN and BANAT News. This paper reported the highlights of my talk the next day. It was a pleasure and a privilege to speak alongside Philippine STAR News Editor Marichu Villanueva and political content creator Lovely Granada. The FREEMAN Editor-in-Chief Lucky Malicay moderated the discussion.
I had to miss the lunch after the forum because I was due at another forum to present a draft Cebu Citizens-Press Council resolution on the proposed Digital Media Anti-False Information Bill. There was much to discuss there, too, and I’ll write about it in another column soon.
Back to the columnists’ fellowship night, I recall one of the speakers from the sponsoring company who said she had long admired the unity of Cebu media. She recalled her experience in a part of Mindanao where press groups with differing leanings had difficulty agreeing on common activities.
In a study of the Cebu Citizens-Press Council published in UP’s Plaridel Journal, Prof. Ma. Theresa Angelina Q. Tabada traces Cebu Press Freedom Week to 1984. She links its September observance to the anniversary of the declaration of martial law and the defense of press freedom. She also observed that Cebu media groups have learned to compete while working together on matters that concern the profession. I saw that again last week, in the forums and the gatherings that followed.
We do not need to agree on every story, commentary or public issue to sit down together. Getting to know one another in a relaxed setting can make honest conversations easier later. More importantly, it makes it easier for us to come together when press freedom is at stake.
Cebu Press Freedom Week has also made me think beyond the press. We live with political divisions, an unpredictable world, rising costs, worries about oil prices and the growing effects of climate change. With so much happening at once, it is easy to put off seeing one another. One habit we should nurture is staying a little longer after a serious meeting or accepting an invitation for coffee when we happen to be nearby.
May we keep trying to find common ground --or, at the very least, keep making time for one another.