Javellana appointed as Inquirer associate publisher

Juliet Labog-Javellana

Philippine Daily Inquirer president and CEO Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez has appointed Juliet Labog-Javellana as the company’s associate publisher.

With her new post, Javellana will be the management’s senior representative in the editorial group and will have post-oversight responsibility in the content, quality, style and image of the newspaper, management of editorial operations and output, editorial reputation of the Inquirer, and collaboration with the editorial and business groups.

The former Central Desk chief will also oversee full compliance of the paper with the Journalism Code of Ethics and Manual of Editorial Policies.

She will act as the Readers’ Advocate by providing timely feedback and response to complaints, issues and concerns raised by Inquirer readers, advertisers and other stakeholders in relation to news reports, columns, letters and advertisements published in the Inquirer.

“Juliet is a homegrown Inquirer talent. She was mentored by no less than the late EIC Letty Magsanoc. She is very passionate in her job, committed to excellence and unwavering in her resolve for press freedom and balanced reporting. I wish her all the best in her new role,” Inquirer chair Raul Palabrica said.

Javellana began her career with the paper in May 1989 as a supplements writer in the advertising division. She pounded the beat as a reporter from April 1990 onward, becoming Reporter 4 in August 1999.

Awards, recognition

She covered the police, military, environment, local governments, courts and foreign affairs beats, and later the House of Representatives, the Senate and Malacañang under four post-Edsa presidents.

Javellana has received prestigious awards and recognition, including the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Investigative Journalism for reports on the pork barrel, human rights and other issues.

She was part of a four-member Inquirer team that produced the Abadilla 5 series, which won best investigative report from the Catholic Mass Media Awards and excellence in specialized reporting from the Society of Publishers in Asia in 2003.

In September 2018, she was awarded the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Award for Journalism by the US Embassy, the highest honor given by the embassy, for her “invaluable contributions to investigative and responsible reporting.”

USAID Mission Director Lawrence Hardy II lauded Javellana for shaping the future of Philippine journalism through her role as mentor to dozens of journalists under her direction.

Free, responsible press

In her acceptance of the award, Javellana said it “honors and validates the important role that a free and responsible press plays in the life of a nation, and in protecting the democratic way of life that we all value.”

She participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), the US Department of State’s premier professional exchange program in Washington where she spent three weeks in the United States as part of the Edward R. Murrow IVLP Journalist Program on Best Practices on Ethical Reporting.

Javellana was promoted to the position of Day Desk editor in March 2008 and chief of the Inquirer Day Desk in September 2013, supervising the day-to-day coverage of reporters.

After the Inquirer integrated its different news platforms in 2015, she was tapped to head the Inquirer Central Desk.

As director of the Central News Desk of the Inquirer Group, she oversaw and planned the news coverage of the Inquirer’s print, online, broadcast and social media platforms.

Javellana has also represented the Inquirer in global media conferences of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN-IFRA) and the International News Media Association (INMA).

Javellana obtained her bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna.

She served as editor in chief of the UPLB Perspective, the official student publication of UPLB. In 2009, she received her Master of Arts in Journalism from the Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism of the Ateneo de Manila University.