Our column on “Water vs. Dengue” was nominated for Columnist of the Year. I talked with Dr. Richard Mata about how to manage dengue fever which snatch the lives of many children. And he told me that the disease can be curtailed by water.
Last year, I was nominated in the same category but I lost it. But two years ago, I won the same award for a discussion I did whether Davao City is ready for the consequences of global warming brought about by climate change.
Last year, I joined a group of Davao media personalities in touring around Davao City to get first-hand information on why Davao City is different from the rest of the cities in the country. After the said tour, I wrote “What makes Davao City exceptional” which earned me a nomination for Reporter of the Year for Print.
I won already two awards in this category. The first one was on a feature on “A season of floods” which was published then in “Sun.Star Davao.” Last year, I won it again for my feature on the growing of HIV/AIDS cases in Davao City. In that story, I incorporated the learning I got from the international conferences I attended in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Melbourne (Australia) and Durban (South Africa).
Last year, the other award I won was for Explanatory/Investigative Story for Print. I was cited for my two-part series on how Davao City was transformed from being a Murder City in the past to one of the safest cities in the world today.
This year, I am again nominated in the same category. And it was for my two-part series on dengue entitled “Dengue: Hope in the Horizon.” I was one of the first journalists to write an in-depth report on the subject for the Asian edition in “Reader’s Digest.” My editor, Peter Dockrill, helped and guided me to shape the story. I had to interview several experts on it from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines (where the regional office of the World Health Organization is based).
The fourth nomination – new for this year – is Reporter for Online News Portal. Some of the articles I wrote were published in the website of EDGE Davao. My series on the vanishing harvest of fish in Davao Gulf and other parts of the country, “Where have all our fish gone?” was shortlisted.
The two other nominations for EDGE Davao were for Explanatory/Investigative Story for Print (for Armando Fenequito Jr. who wrote “Beyond 4Ps: What ails the country’s education programs?”) and for Photojournalist of the Year (for Lean Daval for his photograph entitled “Bayanihan”).
Also shortlisted for the Reporter of the Year for Print were RG Antonet Go for “DSWD: Government’s 4P produces 218 college graduates in Region 9” (Zamboanga Today), Hader Glang for “4 Indonesian hostages freed by Abu Sayyaf” (Zamboanga Today), Nonong Santiago for “CHO acts on complaints vs. mall waste water disposal” (Zamboanga Today), Mike Baños for “Sowing the seeds of lasting peace in the mountains of Iligan” (The Philippine Graphic), Jigger Jerusalem for “Global water shortage seen in next 10 years” (Sun.Star CDO), Nitz Arancon for “Protesters accuse CA of taking bribes” (Mindanao Gold Star Daily), Rhealyn Pojas for “The state of the toilet 2015” (Sun.Star Davao) and Yas Ocampo for “Upon which is water: Lessons from the marsh” (Mindanao Times).
In the Explanatory/Investigative Story for Print, the other nominees were Mike Baños for “City Extension may be constrained by US military facility at Lumbia” (Mindanao Daily News), Lina Reyes for “Different parties, different strokes” (BusinessWeek Mindanao), and Jesse Boga for “Food safety series” (Mindanao Times).
The nominees for Reporter for Online News Portal is fully-packed. The other contenders were Mart Sambalud for “Building a disaster-resilient communities thru Oplan Andam” (Davao Today), RA Colina for “Datu: leave the lumads alone” (MindaNews), Mike Baños for “Of a Promise Kept: A Higa-onon’s Walkabout” (Kagay-anon), Bobby Lagsa for “Plight of the Badjao” (Rappler), and Erwin Mascariñas for “Nomad’s Lens: National Scientist calls for protection of Misamis Oriental town Sailfin Lizard” (Interaksyon).
Also nominated in the same category were Hader Glang for “Zambo City leaders reiterate stands on Bangsamoro in last SOCA” (Zamboanga Today), RG Antonet Go for “Zambo City jail installs visitor tracking system” (Zamboanga Today), Nonong Santiago for “DTI: School supplies with high lead content dangerous for children” (Zamboanga Today), Edwin Espejo for “Tawi-tawi takes pride in its marine trade” (Brunei Times), and John Felix Unson for “The peculiarity of ARMM’s bloody politics” (Philippine Star).
Aside from Daval, the other nominees for Photojournalist of the Year were as follows: Remus Ong for “Another mentally-ill man sits in the middle of the street in downtown Zamboanga” (Zamboanga Today), Erwin Mascariñas for “Bakwit School” (Sun.Star CDO), Nitz Arancon for “Salvage” (Mindanao Gold Star Daily), Lito Rulona for “Mendicants” (Mindanao Gold Star Daily), Robinson Niñal for “Almost Gone” (Mindanao Daily Mirror), Bing Gonzales for “What flood?” (Mindanao Times), and Edwin Espejo for “Muslims pray during the first day of Aidil Fitri at the Grand Mosque” (Brunei Times).
According to the press release, “all submitted entries touched on any or a combination of the four sustainability focus areas: care for the environment, innate care for our people, positive societal impact, and digital nation.”
It added that the competition this year “is anchored on the company’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as part of its advocacy to help create a Wonderful Philippines.”
Yoly Crisanto, Globe Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications explained, “The critical role of media organizations and online communities in forming and shaping public opinion makes it imperative for technology organizations like Globe to encourage excellence in this field as we all aspire to effect societal change.”
The GMEA is now on its fifth year. The awards night will be held on November 22, 2016 at the Marco Polo Hotel.
