Media mourn, pay tribute to Isagani Yambot

MANILA, Philippines—Journalists are mourning the death of Philippine Daily Inquirer publisher Isagani Yambot. The press freedom fighter died at age 77 after succumbing to a heart attack on Friday.

The Philippine Press Institute expressed sadness over the death of “veteran journalist Isagani Yambot.”

“The Philippine Press Institute is deeply saddened by the passing of Isagani Yambot, a true journalist and gentleman. He will be greatly missed by the profession,” PPI said in a statement.

Yambot served as trustee of PPI and was the institute’s chairman-president from April 2009 to June 2011.

Official statement of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

Inday Espina-Varona, head of ABS-CBN’s Bayan Mo Ipatrol Mo said: “Gani, we will miss you. Miss the wry rumor. Miss those poems. Miss how you never shirked from showing emotions when colleagues fell in the line of duty. Most of all, I will miss the intellectual honesty that forced all of us to confront ourselves, our profession’s weakness, even as we sought ways to serve the nation better.

Isagani Yambot. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

“In the last Media Nation, Gani emphatically stressed that it was high time employers of journalists were brought into the discourse because no profession could treat its workers so badly and expect high ethical and professional standards. God speed, Gani. Waft those poems from on high.”

Fellow press freedom fighter Nonoy Espina, Interaksyon.com editor, described Yambot as “truly one of the pillars in the unfinished struggle for press freedom in the Philippines. We will carry on. Maraming, maraming salamat po!”

Hollywood columnist Janet Nepales wrote: “So sad with the passing away of a good friend and mentor, Gani Yambot, editor-journalist and PDI publisher… while I was a Journalism student at UST, Gani would always graciously come to my invitations for him to speak to the Journalism students…he was then editor of The Times Journal where I would eventually work later…he has touched our lives and made a difference to the world! Rest.”

“He was the gentlest, kindest person you’ll ever meet who’d never fail to brighten up your otherwise gloomy, troubled day with his wisdom and, yes, his always assuring smile. Goodbye sir Gani. We’ll miss you,” said Gerry Plaza of Yahoo! Philippines.

Mario Hernando, weekend editor at Malaya, described Yambot as  “mild-mannered, always pleasant, friendly, and professional…”

“He was the antithesis to the old-style terror desk editors who made every reporter’s life hell, those cranky old fogeys who believed that getting the news and putting the paper to bed could only be effective under a martinet or an army drill sergeant. Gani proved that the newsroom need not be run by a yelling, cursing roughneck,” wrote Hernando.

Following are messages of other journalists and media groups posted on social networking groups:

https://storify.com/inquirerdotnet/media-mourn-pay-tribute-to-isagani-yambot