Newsroom stood still: Isagani Yambot stopped the presses

In the surreal hush that descended on the Inquirer newsroom on March 2, it seemed that publisher Isagani “Gani” M. Yambot Sr. had all but stopped the presses.

“All of us in the newsroom found out at about the same time last Friday, late afternoon, that Gani was gone. We were all so shocked. We could not focus on our work. We kept trying to concentrate but it took some doing. And it took some time,” editor in chief Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc recalled.

“That’s why the first edition of the Inquirer last Saturday went out at 10:14 p.m. [well past the deadline of 8:30 p.m.]. The second edition was finished at 11:03, a record of sorts in the annals of the Inquirer’s deadline compliance,” she said to laughter.

“That’s how affected the newsroom was by the passing of Gani,” Magsanoc said in her tribute to Yambot on Thursday night in the packed Arlington Memorial Chapels in Quezon City, where dozens of Inquirer executives and editors and hundreds of staffers, reporters, employees and friends paid him their last respects.

That night, the Inquirer gave an affectionate, emotional send-off to the man alternately described in eulogies as the “voice of the Inquirer,” a gentleman, a journalist’s journalist, a press freedom fighter, a grammar cop, and a “lover of all creations bright and beautiful.”

‘He was truly loved’

By turns touching and joyful, “the Philippine Daily Inquirer night” culminated a weeklong series of fond remembrances for Yambot, who succumbed to a heart attack 10 days after undergoing a quadruple heart bypass. He was 77.

And just as the late publisher would have liked it, there was plenty of food and a lot of songs, courtesy of classical soprano singers and the Inquirer’s own choral group, the InqChoirer.

Inquirer president Alexandra “Sandy” Prieto-Romualdez said: “I think you can see from the turnout tonight that Gani was truly loved. There are people here whom I haven’t seen for 20 years … Gani was truly loved by us.”

Romualdez announced, in behalf of Inquirer chair Marixi Prieto, who was also present, that the Inquirer would be financing the schooling of at least one scholar in Yambot’s name.

“We’re calling it the IMY Scholar,” she said to cheers.

Tears, too

During a break in the program, old photos of Yambot were flashed on a screen showing the many facets of his life at the Inquirer—behind a desk, at a party, speaking at a formal function or in a street rally.

As somber music played in the background, some of the family members and others in the audience wept.

But there was instant comic relief, too, as when the screen flashed picture after picture of Yambot in the company of beautiful celebrities, such as one of him shaking hands with popular actress Angel Locsin, and another where he was wrapped in an embrace with sexy star Patricia Javier. Another photo showed him with girls in angel costumes.

Positive energy

In her tribute, Romualdez spoke of Yambot’s positivity and humor, and of being a stickler for grammar.

“I see him weekly in our execom (executive committee meeting). He was always in a positive mode, except when he goes through the notes of the assessment meeting. He has great frustration when there’s a lot of gender-benders,” Romualdez said.

“And when the attendance in his training sessions is a little low, he’d ask, don’t you have anything there to raffle off?” she said, eliciting chuckles from the audience.

“That’s how I want to remember Gani—that he was such a positive energy. And always so good with seeing people coming together, never wanting to confront, never wanting to disturb. That one I want to keep as my memory of him,” she said, wiping away her tears.

Romualdez’s emotional words later prompted Yambot’s brother Efren to remark: “I’ve been in the corporate world, retired eight years ago. I have worked with presidents and CEOs and this is the first time I have seen a president shed tears for a fallen comrade. I salute your president and CEO.”

Defending press freedom

Managing editor Jose Ma. Nolasco talked about Yambot’s “shining moment” in the Inquirer when he served as its spokesperson in 1999 when the paper suffered its greatest crisis, a five-month advertising boycott launched by then President Joseph Estrada.

“Although Gani was not cut out as a public speaker, he spoke in numerous interviews and talk shows to explain the Inquirer’s side in the face of Malacañang’s incessant charges against the Inquirer that we had been irresponsible and malicious in our reporting,” Nolasco said.

“Instead of spending late evenings with his colleagues at some café in Malate … Gani engaged various mass communication students on some campuses explaining the importance of press freedom deep into the night,” he said.

“Never have I seen a publisher who was a more fiery activist than I was in my University of the Philippines days,” Nolasco said.

‘Gentle soul’

Magsanoc said the Inquirer cooked up a “secret formula” to counter the boycott.

“The Inquirer’s strategy, as formulated by Sandy and the editorial group led by Gani, was something like this: Just give them the facts, guys. Stick to the truth, and stick to our guns. And the Inquirer prevailed in a large part due to Gani’s relentless lecturing on what the Inquirer was and is all about,” she said.

“In the newsroom, we regarded Gani as a gentle soul, nearly childlike in his pursuit of the good life, the good food, and the good story,” Magsanoc said. “He was a lover of all creations bright and beautiful, of books, the theater and, not the least, the two-legged creations.”

And he was naughty too, she continued. “When the Inquirer held a nude sketching session, everybody came with sketch pads and pencils. Gani came with a camera,” Magsanoc said, drawing some of the loudest laughs of the night.

Old breed

Associate editor Abelardo Ulanday, also Inquirer.net editor in chief, recalled his frequent banter with Gani that he said often lightened the load. “He would always greet you. He would always have some nice things to say,” he said.

Talking about Yambot’s tendency to be close to pretty girls, Ulanday recalled an incident when the two of them were still working in the Times Journal.

“There was a new reporter whose name was Marlen. So [Gani] asked a city editor, ‘is Marlen OK?’ The editor said, ‘right there behind you.’ And when he looked—it was a guy,” he said.

Not missing a beat, Yambot told the rookie: “Hi, Marlen, (you’re) still pretty.”

Amando Doronila, Inquirer columnist and editorial consultant, said Yambot belonged to an old breed of journalists who relied on hard facts and “not just Facebook or Twitter.”

He said that, like him, Yambot started out as a reporter and remained one even as he rose up the editorial ladder.

A rock star

Speaking in behalf of the family, Yambot’s youngest daughter Maria Vilma said: “I am comforted by the fact that my dad is not gone. He’s here. My dad loved a great party. He was a party-goer. This is great company, great food, great music, great family and friends and he’s smiling right now.”

“I’m gonna be changing a couple of things when I go home to Florida on Sunday due to my dad’s passing,” she said.

First, she said she would stop buying lottery tickets. “Today, I feel like the luckiest person on earth. I feel honored to be one of the daughters of Isagani Yambot Sr.,” she said.

“Second, I’m no longer gonna be quiet at my work at Citibank. I’m gonna go home and brag like there’s no tomorrow. My dad is like a rock star in Manila!” Vilma said.

She thanked the Inquirer owners, management and staff.

“PDI is a high quality company who treats everyone as family. I’ve seen that tonight,” Vilma said. “Our father loved being part of the Philippine Daily Inquirer family. We saw how he enjoyed each and every moment he spent at PDI,” she also said.

A blast in heaven

The Felicidad chapel, where Yambot’s casket lay, was crammed with so many people that an adjoining chapel had to be opened to serve as a satellite room where mourners could watch a stream of the program.

Even people who were no longer employed by the Inquirer, former editors, reporters and staff, paid their respects.

Sen. Frank Drilon and Rep. Edcel Lagman also came to say goodbye.

At the door, mourners wrote messages of farewell for Yambot on a large tarpaulin sheet. One simply drew a caricature of Yambot in a blue marker.

“We love you! I’m sure you are now having a blast with Him,” the message read.