Senate resolution filed to honor Magsanoc

GOODBYE, LETTY And thanks for keeping the fires of press freedom burning, while telling the Filipino story courageously, passionately and always with a sense of fun. INQUIRER PHOTO

Senate President Franklin Drilon on Tuesday filed a resolution seeking to honor Inquirer editor in chief Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc, multiawarded journalist and “prominent sentinel of press freedom,” who died on Christmas Eve.

In a statement, Drilon said the Senate, which is now on a holiday break, will adopt his resolution when it resumes sessions next month, and that a copy of it will be presented to Magsanoc’s family.

In his proposed resolution, Drilon hailed Magsanoc as a “resolute leader and a generous mentor to her colleagues in the industry.”

“Magsanoc’s commitment to responsible, complete and fair reporting, regardless of the risks and hazards such vows entails, cultivated higher ethical standards in the field of journalism and fostered a steadfast pursuit for the truth,” he said.

Drilon also noted that Magsanoc was a “prominent sentinel of press freedom who actively resisted any form of undue suppression in journalism and bravely wielded her pen to expose the truth, despite the perils of such a courageous stance.”

Before she cofounded the Inquirer in 1985 and eventually served as its editor in chief in 1991, Magsanoc began her career as a writer for the Manila Bulletin in 1969 and worked for publications like the Panorama magazine from 1976 to 1981.

During her stint as the Panorama editor in chief, she was forced to resign because of her defiant articles against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

“Her fearlessness inspired colleagues in the profession whose collective efforts set off a series of events that precipitated the country’s freedom from the clutches of a dictatorial government,” Drilon said.

He also cited the various awards that Magsanoc received, including “The Star of Asia,” 25 Business Week International Magazine (2000); Marcelo del Pilar Journalism Award for Print, Rotary Club of Manila (2000); 60 Years of Asian Heroes, Time Magazine International (2006); and Journalist of the Year, 19th Rotary Club of Manila Journalism Awards (2015).