PDI columnist bags PMAP Makatao media award

PDI columnist Anna Tuazon —Marianne Bermudez

MANILA, Philippines — Clinical psychologist and associate professor Anna Tuazon was named Best Newspaper Columnist at the 12th Makatao Awards for Media Excellence, an annual recognition conferred by the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP).

Tuazon, now in her third year with the Inquirer writing her Thursday column “Safe Spaces,” thanked her editors in the Opinion section for the space to articulate her views on various concerns.

“They let me write whatever I want and that freedom is something I really appreciate,” Tuazon said upon accepting her award on Aug. 28, noting it was her first as a writer in the media industry.

READ: Inquirer again tops PMAP Makatao awards as ‘Newspaper of the Year’

A 2017 board exam topnotcher, Tuazon has a doctorate in clinical psychology from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. She currently teaches at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

As a speaker at the PMAP general assembly, Tuazon said she considered it her role to help create spaces for “underserved perspectives that are not always in the headlines,” and to provide informed choices for Filipinos in pursuit of the “good life.”

‘Polarization’ in issues

“What I’ve been noticing as an observer … is that most conflicts and misunderstandings on national issues [arise] because people are focused on who’s right or wrong, but are not mindful of how they arrived at their conclusions, “ she said at the gathering of business leaders and media professionals.

PMAP is a nonprofit organization counting more than 1,800 companies as affiliates.

“We see a lot of black-and-white thinking—if you’re not with us, you’re against us.”

Tuazon said this “polarization” is evident in politics, in the news, and most notably on social media.

Against this backdrop of a “polarized society,” she thought of assuming the role, through her column, of advocating the “people’s right to a good life and for them to have autonomy to determine what that good life is.”

With psychology intersecting with “almost everything,” including the world of business, she said, companies and their executives should align themselves with the “dreams and hopes of the Filipinos.”

“Designing businesses for people is a win-win situation” for industries, the workforce and consumers, Tuazon said. “There’s no business without people, and there’s no business, at least no good business, without understanding people.”

For her, the only real barometers of profit and success are “values and sustainability.”

Instead of “manipulating” consumers as part of their “persuasion strategies,” companies should “get curious [and] understand what is the good life for Filipinos and how can their products [or services] serve that,” she said.

Tuazon also cautioned businesses against social media trends. “If we’re not mindful—if all we care about are short-term profits and … views and engagements—[this] could lead, at worst, to exploitation of consumers.”

“It sounds like a pipe dream and it sounds naive, and it’s not the easiest or shortest [route], because usually it’s a long, painful route to get to a sustainable solution. But it’s a route worth pursuing,” Tuazon said.

The Makatao Awards gives recognition to mass media professionals and organizations whose work “enhances public understanding of the role and impact of sound people management in the public and private sectors.”