ACKNOWLEDING the role of media practitioners in nation building, the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) yesterday renewed the accreditation of the Cebu Newspaper Workers Foundation Inc. (Cenewof) as a civil society organization.
The foundation’s president Dr. Pureza Oñate, who appeared before the board, said Cenewof was established in 1980 to “enhance the standards of journalism, promote professionalism and ensure the welfare of workers in the print media industry.”
Cenewof manages the Marcelo Fernan Cebu Press Center in Sudlon and gave birth to the Cebu News Workers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Newscoop) which currently serves about 1,000 print and broadcast members.
The renewal of Cenewof’s accreditation coincides with the 20th annual celebration of Cebu Press Freedom Week.
Capitol legislators also reminded journalists to observe ethical conduct through accurate and fair reporting.
Citing the “vital role of the media in the country’s observance of the right of speech and information,” members of the press have to follow the Journalists Code of Ethics of the Philippine Press Institute, said
PB Member Miguel Magpale in a resolution approved by the board.
He said a number of media practioners have committed errors in “form or substance which adversely affect the integrity and credibility of the news.”
The resolution cited the duty of a media practitioner to report and interpret news properly and “recognize the duty to air the other side.”
In 1979, the late Concepcion Gantuangco-Briones, a columnist of The Republic News, and Pachico Seares, editor of Sun.Star Daily, both founding members of the Association of Cebu Journalists (ACJ), “took the initial steps to organize a media foundation that would involve prominent citizens in the Cebuano community, particularly those with family ties to journalism,” according to the book edited by Resil Mojares, “Sergio Osmeña, the Enduring Legacy”, a compilation of memorial lectures about Don Sergio which were sponsored every year by Cenewof and ACJ.
Cenewof officials and trustees appeared in the PB regular session yesterday. They were vice president for internal afairs Milagros Espina, vice president for external affairs Valeriano “Bobit” Avila of the Freeman, and trustees Flor Ynclino, Marissa Fernan, Elvira Luym, Sun.Star public standards editor Pachico Seares who is a founding member of Cenewof, and Cebu Daily News publisher and acting editor in chief Eileen Mangubat.
Some trustees were out of town or abroad like CDN’s Thea Riñen and Rep. Raul del Mar.