MANILA, Philippines—Words of condolence and sympathy poured in from all over the Internet in the wake of the death of Inquirer publisher Isagani M. Yambot on Friday.
Asia News Network, an alliance of newspapers in the region, tweeted its condolences: “We extend our condolence to family of Mr Isagani Yambot, publisher of the Inquirer & member of the board of ANN. RIP, Gani.”
Yambot was one of the members of the board of ANN, and was also chairman of the board in 2009 when the network celebrated its 10th anniversary.
One of President Aquino’s spkespersons, Abigail Valte, expressed “profound shock” at the news of Yambot’s passing.
“He was a calm, cheerful presence not only in the newsroom and boardroom of his paper, but in every gathering of note among journalists and between media, civil society, and government,” the statement said. “His was a voice of passion yet reason; the loss of his presence will be felt deeply by a nation that knows all a newsman can ask for, in the end, is this simple epitaph: he wrote it, as he saw it, with honest words and with his only master, the truth.”
The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) hailed Yambot as one of the staunchest defenders of press freedom. “We mourn the passing of Philippine Daily Inquirer publisher Mr. Isagani Yambot, one of the country’s most respected journalists and an ardent defender of press freedom.”
As of this posting, “Isagani Yambot” was among the top trending topics in the Philippines on Twitter.
Following are some tributes to Yambot on the microblogging site:
https://storify.com/inquirerdotnet/cascade-of-tweets-mourns-yambot-s-passing