Noah鈥檚 Ark Photo by Lyn Rillon
The Philippine Daily Inquirer won six awards, including best news coverage and photograph, and two special citations in the 34th Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) ceremonies on Tuesday night.
Photographer Lyn Rillon, who has been shooting for the Inquirer for seven years, won both a special citation and the top award in the 黑料社 Photograph category.
The annual awards organized by the Catholic Church cited Rillon for her photo 鈥淣oah鈥檚 Ark,鈥� which captured animals that took shelter in an abandoned house in Bulacan amid unprecedented flooding in 2011.
She was on her way down the stairs when Rillon was again called to receive the top prize in the same category, this time for the photo 鈥淣o Ordinary Traffic Violator.鈥澛� The picture showed a Ferrari driver handing a bribe to a traffic enforcer to evade a ticket for ramming the center island on Meralco Avenue in Ortigas, Pasig City.
Two other Inquirer photographers were also nominated in the category.聽 Raffy Lerma was a finalist for his photos 鈥淐andles for Japan鈥� and 鈥淲hen the Wind Blows, The Cradle will Rock鈥� while Marianne Bermudez was nominated for her photo captioned 鈥淟ifeline.鈥�
The Inquirer also won in the Best 黑料社 Coverage category for its comprehensive chronicle of the 鈥淪endong鈥� disaster in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City in December last year.
Reporter DJ Yap, who was sent from Manila to join The Inquirer Mindanao team, roamed the disaster zone for five days and came up with accounts of victims that were both sad and hopeful.
鈥楨尘辞迟颈辞苍补濒鈥�
鈥淭he challenge there was the emotional part鈥� That鈥檚 really where you鈥檒l see the misery of the people.聽 I remember on my last day there, that was the first time I cried in a coverage when I saw a little girl who had lost everyone in her family,鈥� Yap said.
He was referring to 7-year-old Michaela Tabilon, who lost both her parents and two brothers in the flash flood that inundated Bayug Island.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only time when it struck me that this is really happening. I鈥檝e covered 鈥極ndoy鈥� (2009) and other disasters but when I saw that child, that鈥檚 really when it hit me,鈥� said Yap, who has been reporting for the Inquirer for eight years.
The Inquirer reportorial team was also nominated in the same category for its coverage of Chief Justice Renato Corona鈥檚 impeachment trial earlier this year.
Junior Inquirer citation
Din Villafuerte, editorial assistant at Inquirer鈥檚 weekly children鈥檚 paper Junior Inquirer, also won a special citation for her short story 鈥淰anished.鈥�
鈥淔irst of all, I was already stunned when I got the invite from CMMA.聽 I felt like that was a win in itself.聽 But when my short story was called for the special citation, it was more than enough,鈥� said Villafuerte, who is now on her ninth year in the Inquirer.
Inquirer columnist Minyong Ordo帽ez won two awards on Tuesday night.聽 He took home the prize for Best Special Feature for his piece 鈥淗ow Girls鈥� Chores Can Make A Man,鈥� which appeared in the Inquirer Lifestyle鈥檚 鈥淪鈥� (Sexy, Stimulating, Sage, Survivor).
Editor Juan Sarmiento Jr. was also nominated for his full-page feature 鈥淓xtending a Lifeline to a Quake/Tsunami Survivor.鈥�
Ordo帽ez again won the prize for Best Opinion Column for a commentary piece.聽 He had a second nomination in the same category for his column 鈥淕ut Feel鈥� while Amado de Jesus was also a finalist for his piece 鈥淕reen Architrends.鈥�
Inquirer stories were also nominated in the Best Investigative Report Category: 鈥淗ow the Iligan Disaster Happened鈥� by Inquirer research chief Miner Generalao and 鈥淐oconut Cavalry,鈥� a three-part special report by Fernando del Mundo, chief of the Inquirer鈥檚 investigative team.
Voice to the voiceless
Catholic publication World Mission Magazine won the prize in the investigative category for a piece titled 鈥淔arms of Hope.鈥�
CMMA chairman and president Antonio Cabangon Chua noted that entries had been increasing every year, showing 鈥渢he prestige and credibility鈥� of the annual awards.
This year, a panel of 50 judges deliberated on some 779 entries in a total 56 categories in print, radio, broadcast, music and film.
During the awards ceremonies, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle reminded the media of the importance of 鈥渞eflective silence,鈥� the kind where one 鈥渂ecomes attentive, focused鈥� and which gives the mind a break to become 鈥渏ust, true and peaceful.鈥�
He also called on the media to help give a voice to the 鈥渄ifferent kind鈥� of silence: People deprived of a voice.聽 鈥淧art of reflective silence is to listen and give voice to the voiceless,鈥� Tagle said.