Inquirer journos are Asia’s best

Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Nancy Carvajal wins Journalist of the Year Award. Photo from SOPA’s Twitter account.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer bagged top prizes during this year’s Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Editorial Awards.

Nancy Carvajal, who wrote an explosive series on the pork barrel scam, was named Journalist of the Year on Wednesday evening.

Carvajal, who received her award during the SOPA gala dinner in Hong Kong, bested reporters from the New York Times and TIME.

READ:  For pork scam exposé, Inquirer reporter is journalist of the year

Meanwhile, Edwin Bacasmas won the Excellence in News Photography Award with his photograph “Home Street Home.” Other finalists for the category were the South China Morning Post and Coconuts Media, both of which covered the Occupy Hong Kong movement.

Carvajal’s exposé paved the way for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the filing of charges against lawmakers accused of misusing taxpayers’ money.

In 2013, she wrote a six-part series on alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles. This was followed by a 13-part series on the files submitted as evidence by whistleblower Benhur Luy. KS

INQUIRER BAGS TOP SOPA AWARDS The Inquirer won big at Wednesday’s 2015 Society of Publishers in Asia (Sopa) awards night with reporter Nancy C. Carvajal named Journalist of the Year, besting Time magazine’s Hannah Beech and the International New York Times’ Jonah Kessel. Inquirer photographer Edwin Bacasmas won the award for Excellence in News Photography, beating entries from Coconuts Media and the South China Morning Post. It was the first win for both Carvajal and Bacasmas at Sopa. JULIET LABOG-JAVELLANA

HOME, STREET HOME A family makes its home on a street in Makati City, the site of the country’s top financial district. Millions of Filipinos go to bed hungry despite the soaring economy, according to the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations. EDWIN BACASMAS