US Embassy gives Aquino Award to Inquirer Central Desk chief

The US Embassy has named Inquirer Central Desk Director Juliet Labog-Javellana as recipient of the 2018 Ninoy and Cory Aquino Award for Journalism, the highest honor given by the embassy.

“We offer nothing greater than this in the Philippines to recognize the Filipino spirit of service that was the hallmark of the lives of Senator Ninoy and President Cory (Aquino),” USAID Mission Director Lawrence Hardy II said in a speech at the awards ceremony on Thursday.

Hardy spoke on behalf of US Ambassador Sung Kim, who was called for an unscheduled meeting with President Duterte in Malacañang.

Javellana was also chosen by the embassy to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), the US Department of State’s premier professional exchange program in Washington.

She will spend three weeks in the United States in October as part of the Edward R. Murrow IVLP Journalist Program on Best Practices in Ethical Reporting.

For the past 30 years, the US Embassy, in consultation with the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF), has selected individuals from the annual roster of IVLP participants to be recipients of the Aquino Awards for Journalism and Public Service, Hardy said.

IVLP participants are selected by US embassies and extended invitations to visit the United States to meet with their counterparts.

Hardy cited Javellana’s role in “orchestrat(ing) how the news is being covered” by the Inquirer. “The decisions she makes sets the news agenda for one of the most respected print outlets in the country, keeping the Inquirer credible, independent and relevant.”

Role as mentor

Javellana, he added, is also “shaping the future of Philippine journalism through her role as mentor to dozens of journalists under her direction.”

Kim, in his letter to the awardee, said: “From the pool of IVLP participants, you have been selected as the 2018 Aquino Awardee for Journalism because of your invaluable contributions to investigative and responsible reporting.”

In accepting the award, Javellana said it “honors and validates the important role that a free and responsible press plays in the life of a nation, and in protecting the democratic way of life that we all value.”

“In an era where social media is used to spread fake news, misinformation and propaganda, where journalists and media owners are intimidated and democratic institutions are tested, this award strengthens our resolve to stay true to our covenant with the people,” she added.

Survival amid pressures

She accepts the award “with pride and gratitude in my heart … in behalf of the Inquirer Group and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which was born during the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution,” Javellana said.

The Inquirer, she added, endeavored to fulfill its mission “at great risk to our lives, our survival as an independent news organization, and despite political pressures bearing down on our newsroom.”

The award “will inspire (her) and the Inquirer to stay the course, to continue reporting the truth and upholding freedom and democracy that are under assault in these challenging times.”

Quoting authors Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, Javellana noted that journalism’s first obligation is to the truth and its first loyalty, to citizens.

“Under the most trying circumstances, there is no better time to be a journalist,” she said, adding that she hopes to return the honor of the award “by being the best journalist that I can be.”

Javellana also thanked the US Embassy, the US Department of State, and the NCAF for “taking up the cause of a free and responsible press and exemplary public service” through the awards.

Game changers, leaders

In his speech, NCAF head Rafael “Rapa” Lopa, said that the annual Aquino Award for Filipinos were for “game changers and leaders in their fields.”

Javellana, he said,  “play(ed) a vital role in ensuring the Inquirer’s fidelity to the media’s mandate of holding administrations accountable through thorough and honest investigative reporting.”

Lopa added:  “We salute you, Juliet, for your courage and unwavering commitment to the truth amid the noisy world filled with fake news.”

Javellana, a veteran journalist before joining the Inquirer editorial desk, has been with the Inquirer for almost 30 years and has won numerous awards for investigative reporting.

The embassy also honored Maria Bella Chulipa with the Aquino Award for Public Service, for her work in bringing low-cost therapy services to children with disabilities, as project director of the Japan-Philippines Community and Communication Stimulation and Therapeutic Activity Center of Baguio, or JPCOM Cares.

Last year’s recipient of the Aquino Award for Journalism was Inquirer reporter Melvin Gascon.

People to people

According to Hardy, 2018 marks the 70th year of people-to-people exchanges between the United States and the Philippines, with some 2,000 Filipinos participating in the IVLP program.

“Many of those individuals have gone on to remarkable careers in an enormously broad spectrum of Philippine government, civil society and educational institutions,” he said, adding that these participants have become the US government’s “best partners in bolstering enduring friendship, partnership and alliance” with the Philippines, and in advancing a “shared interest for a more prosperous and secure Philippines.”