Manila Bulletin wins 2 major plums in Binhi Awards
Manila Bulletin (MB) won the top awards in the 2015 Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc.-San Miguel Corporation (PAJ-SMC) Binhi Awards.
Ellalyn B. de Vera, who covers the Department of Agriculture ( DA), Department of Agrarian Reform, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources beats, won first prize in the Environment Journalist of the Year category, while Research Head Leo Laparan II and Research Staff Jaimie
Rose Aberia were awarded the Agri-Feature Story of the Year plum for the story “Facets of PH farming: Is it really aging?” that was published as an in-depth story in MB on August 2, 2015. The story came with a Quick Response ( QR) code that directs readers to a video supplementing the story. MB has been publishing QR video-aided stories every Sunday since May, 2015.
De Vera, Laparan, and Aberia received their awards in a ceremony held at the Makati Diamond Residences in Makati City Tuesday night.
De Vera received 50,000 and a trophy while Laparan and Aberia got 20,000 and a trophy.
“I am honored to be recognized as the environment journalist of 2015,” De Vera said after the awarding rites.
Bearing the theme “Excellence in Agricultural Journalism for a Better Philippines,” the recently concluded edition garnered over 100 entries that vied for 14 categories.
Headed by former Agriculture Sec. Dr. William Dar, this edition’s Board of Judges comprised of SMC Media Affairs Group AVP Mary Jane Oconer Llanes, broadcast journalist Angelo Palmones, Europa Public Relations, Inc. President Sylvia Europa-Pinca, and veteran journalist Leo Deocadiz.
In his inspirational message, Dar said that the country’s agriculture sector has the potential to grow higher than its current “anemic” rate.
“But of course, you have to contend with the bigger challenges like poverty. Forty percent of our farmers and fisherfolk are in poverty,” he said.
Dar then urged various agriculture stakeholders to contribute to the re- designing and reinventing Philippine agriculture “to where it should be.”
The criteria for judging for the Environment Journalist of the Year, Agriculture News Story of the Year, Agriculture Feature Story of the Year, and Environment Story of the Year were depth (30 percent), style (30 percent), organization (20 percent), and impact (20 percent).
In joining the contest, De Vera submitted copies of at least 10 of her best articles, with the corresponding masthead, dates, and bylines or taglines.
The award, De Vera said, has inspired her to continue writing environmental stories that will stimulate proactive response from people, especially on critical issues such as climate change.
“It also inspires me to continue my commitment to communicating all information to the public in such a way that it can be easily understood, considering the increasingly critical emphasis being placed on environmental responsibility in media nowadays,” she said.
A brainchild of Aberia, her and Laparan’s jointly written agricultural feature story tackles the country’s aging farmers’ population, focusing on a farmer-activist in Nueva Ecija, dubbed as the “Rice Granary of the Philippines.”
“I grabbed the opportunity to expose the issue, as the farming industry is very important in our country,” Aberia said. “The story caters to everyone, because all of us may be affected by the problem.”
Laparan said he gave his full support to Aberia that he even joined her in the fieldwork and in writing the story, because he found it interesting given that the Philippines is a “very agricultural country.”
“As a mentor, I always support the story ideas of my researchers. I trust them much when it comes to pitching and working on really interesting stories,” Laparan said.
He added that the story served as an avenue for the farmer to convey his message to the agricultural sector, leaders, and authorities.
The Agri-Feature Story of the Year is the second individual award for Laparan, who also won the Binhi Environment Story of the Year award in 2014. It is the first for Aberia and the fourth overall for the MB Research Team.