The Philippine Daily Inquirer took home three trophies in the 2011 Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA), sweeping three major categories that highlighted the paper’s achievement in the areas of political cartoons, comic strips and coverage of a major hostage crisis, disastrous typhoon and the 2010 elections.
The 33rd CMMA also conferred for the first time the Blessed Pope John Paul II Award to recently retired Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales during the annual award ceremonies held at the San Carlos Seminary Auditorium in Guadalupe, Makati, late Wednesday.
Unopposed in the Best Editorial Cartoon category, the Inquirer’s Gilbert Daroy won for his entry, “2010 Elections vs GMA’s Legacy.” Daroy’s other entries “Knight Against Corruption and Poverty” and “Perks and Bonuses” were also nominated in the category.
Best comic strip
CMMA Hall of Famer Jess Abrera took the award for Best Comic Strip with an entry from his “A. Lipin” comics that featured an exchange on the controversial reproductive health bill between a furious boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and wisecracking carabao, Guyito.
Abrera was elevated to the Hall of Fame two years ago after having won three times for his editorial cartoons. This took him out of contention in the category.
His challenger in the Best Comic Strip category this year was another Inquirer cartoonist, Maria Coll, who was nominated for her “Tuldok” comic strip.
The Inquirer was also unopposed in the Best News Coverage category for print, in which three of its major news coverages last year—the supertyphoon “Juan,” the Rizal Park hostage drama and the 2010 elections—were nominated.
Supertyphoon coverage
The Inquirer’s stories on the supertyphoon “Juan,” one of the deadliest disasters to have hit the country, was cited for Best News Coverage.
“Juan” battered northern Luzon in October last year, affecting about 300,000 people and bringing damage to crops and infrastructure, estimated at P11 billion.
The CMMA also launched on Wednesday night the Blessed John Paul II Award to mark the first celebration of the beloved pontiff’s feast day on October 22.
Archbishop Emeritus Cardinal Rosales was conferred the award for his “innovative and creative way” of propagating his love for the poor. The 79-year-old Rosales was cited for initiating the poverty alleviation program, Pondo ng Pinoy in 2004, which proved that a 25-centavo coin can aid people in need.
Rosales’ retirement was recently accepted by Pope Benedict XVI, who has chosen Imus Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle as his replacement.
CMMA executive director Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr. explained that the award named after John Paul, who was renowned as one of the greatest communicators, was given to a group or a person who effectively utilizes the mass media in creative ways in his or her evangelical service.
‘Best communicators’
In his speech, Rosales said the CMMA “singles out the best communicators of truth and journalists… and some of the best practices in transmitting what is good.”
Amid a wide range of “good and bad news” that need to be conveyed, Rosales stressed that “there’s a way of transmitting bad things” that are not only informative but also formative of the people’s values and attitudes.
He also cited the importance of not only conveying news but also “the truth about the news.”