Neal H. Cruz, veteran journalist, press freedom fighter; 85

Neal H. Cruz and Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc were comrades-in-arms in the guerrilla war for press freedom in the repressive years of the Marcos dictatorship.

Both working for Marcos-controlled newspapers—Cruz was managing editor of the Daily Express and Magsanoc was editor of Panorama, the Sunday magazine of the Manila Bulletin—they played cat-and-mouse games with the censors, often sneaking in anti-Marcos materials in their publications and sometimes getting away with it.

But Magsanoc stretched the censors’ patience too far and she was fired from the Bulletin in 1981 for a parody of the Marcos inauguration following his “landslide victory” over Alejo Santos in the sham presidential election.

It was Cruz who dared to publish the news of her firing, running the story in the first edition of the Express before he got caught.

That, Magsanoc recalls, led to the first confrontation under martial law between the Philippine press and Marcos.

Cruz called a general assembly meeting to mobilize members and draft the position of the National Press Club (NPC) on Magsanoc’s dismissal and a statement was sent to Marcos.

First name on list

Cruz carried on the fight after that incident and, along with another Bulletin editor, Pat Gonzales, founded Kapihan sa Maynila at the Manila Hotel, a breakfast forum that tested the limits of whatever democratic space was allowed under the waning influence of the dictatorship.

Years later, when the Philippine Daily Inquirer needed a columnist to fill a slot in the Opinion section, Neal H. Cruz was the first name on the list of editor in chief Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc.

Feisty and irrepressible, Cruz was perfect for the Inquirer. His first column, which appeared in the Inquirer on Oct. 19, 1994, was true to his reputation. He called for the abolition of Congress, saying the country did not need new laws if old laws were properly enforced.

GOODBYE, NEAL

On July 17, Cruz wrote his last column, this time about President Benigno Aquino III’s quandary over whom to endorse, Mar Roxas or Grace Poe.

READ: P-Noy’s quandary: Roxas or Poe?

Dead at 85

Two weeks, ago, he hit his head when he slipped in the bathroom. He was taken to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City and was declared out of danger after surgery to remove a clot in the brain.

Two days later, however, he was taken back to surgery after doctors discovered fresh bleeding. On Tuesday, Cruz died. He was 85.

He is survived by his wife Marina, children Doris, Dennis and Desiree, and Dinna, and granddaughters Isadora Lyanne and Ma. Ysabella. The wake starts Wednesday at Mt. Carmel Church in New Manila, Quezon City.

Six decades

Cruz, whose journalism career spanned six decades, was editor and columnist of several national dailies, including The Manila Chronicle, The Philippine Daily Globe and The Daily Tribune. He was managing editor and columnist of the martial-law Philippines Daily Express.

Before martial law, he was a Malacañang reporter and later managing editor and columnist of the Evening News.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Literature in Journalism at the University of Santo Tomas, where he was literary editor of The Varsitarian, Cruz started his journalism career as arts and literary editor of This Week Magazine of The Manila Chronicle.

He studied at Malabon Elementary School and went to high school at St. James Academy (Maryknoll).

A two-term president of the NPC, Cruz left the club when it fell into disrepute, organizing the Plaridel (Association of Philippine Journalists) along with other respected veteran journalists.

Lover of the arts

A lover of the arts, Cruz bitterly criticized NPC leaders who sold the mural by National Artist Vicente Manansala inside the NPC building. The mural had been the centerpiece of the building and, during his term as president, he had commissioned noted artists like Mauro “Malang” Santos and Hugo Yonzon, with the supervision of Manansala himself, to restore the painting.

READ: Return the Manansala mural to the NPC

He was also a patron of the arts, nurturing the careers of artists like the late cartoonist Boy Togonon, Edd Aragon, Edgar Soller, Benjo Laygo and Danilo Franco, who all worked in the art section of the Express.

Along with Express executive editor Enrique “Pocholo” Romualdez, he also mentored reporters, editors and photographers who have become outstanding journalists.

Cruz was also a known lover of animals and nature. His Quezon City home is filled with cats mostly rescued from the streets.

In his last columns, he severely criticized Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista for attempting to take over the 7-hectare property of the National Housing Authority (NHA).

READ: Bistek tried to mislead P-Noy in land-grab row

The property had been occupied by the Manila Seedling Bank by virtue of a presidential decree until armed men sent by City Hall forcibly took over the property allegedly for its failure to pay real estate taxes, which the NHA and the seedling bank were exempt from paying.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) will be greatly appreciated, the family said. TVJ

READ:

P-Noy’s quandary: Roxas or Poe?

Why does ‘Bistek’ want NHA lot so much?

RELATED VIDEO: