Esther Chavez (center), INQUIRER.net’s director of sales in the United States, receives her award from Filipina Women’s Network president Marily Mondejar (left) and FWN chairperson Elena Mangahas (right).
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO—The Philippine American Press Club, U.S.A. (PAPC) on its 24th anniversary is honoring the hardworking press corps, and the media agencies they represent by launching the first ever Filipino American excellence in journalism awards, to be called the Plaridel Awards, in tribute to Marcelo H. del Pilar, national hero and journalist of the Philippine revolution.
Plaridel, an anagram of his surname, was his nom de plume. The launch was held at the newly opened Fort McKinley Bar and Restaurant, an apt venue that serves Filipino-American fare.
PAPC president, Esther M. Chavez, said that “it is time that we acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of outstanding writers and publishers in the Filipino American community, as they chronicle the lives and times of our kababayans, promote our ethnicity, champion our causes and provide a medium for our people to voice out their concerns, and ideas for the betterment of our society and the community at large.”
The Plaridel Awardees will receive a trophy in recognition of their outstanding journalistic work that saw print in or was broadcast on a Filipino American based media between June 1, 2011 thru May 31, 2012. Deadline for submission is August 15, 2012. Awards ceremony will be on October 4, 2012.
Awards will be given to the best news report or feature that provides a unique perspective on the issues and concerns of Filipino Americans. Judges will consider originality of topic, unique angles and compelling insights. Categories for print and online articles include Investigative/In-Depth Story, Commentary or Editorial Essay, International Reporting, Entertainment Story, Sports Story, and Youth Voice. For broadcast TV and radio, the lone category will be Community Reporting. The last but not the least category is Photojournalism.
The Department of Tourism will also honor the most outstanding tourism article on the Philippines.
Open to all Filipino American journalists and media outlets, entries are now being accepted
PAPC invites journalists from all corners of the United States. All entries must be postmarked no later than August 15, 2012. Entries must have been published or aired between June 1, 2011 – May 31, 2012 by a news media organization of any size serving the Filipino American community. Each entry must be submitted with a separate entry form and a $10 filing fee (payable to Philippine American Press Club and can only be submitted in one category.]
A writer cannot be nominated for more than one entry per category. PAPC reserves the right to move an entry from one category to another. If the judges deem that no submitted entry it appropriate, no award may be presented in a particular category.
Why ‘Plaridel’ Awards
The name Plaridel was chosen in honor of Marcelo H. Del Pilar, patriot and one of the heroes of the Philippine’s fight for independence against Spain. He was also a journalist and publisher. He, along with Jose Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, and Mariano Ponce, were among the prominent émigrés who found themselves exiled in Europe and Asia a century and a half ago. Brilliant and full of passion and hope for the future of their motherland, they formed organizations to unite the Filipinos, promote their culture and further their countrymen’s concerns. They were prolific writers who kept their constituents abreast with the goings on in their expat community as well as in their homeland.
Before his exile to Spain Del Pilar had been writing and publishing in his hometown in Pampanga, Philippines. It was his writings that got him into trouble with the tyrannical Spanish authorities in the first place. While his escape into exile was unavoidable, his desire to be a journalist never waned and he continued his writings while abroad. He was unrelenting in his pursuit of truth, fairness, and the upliftment of his constituents. His nom de plume, Plaridel, was an anagram of his surname, del Pilar.
In him, PAPC has found a hero – a person to emulate and an inspiration to Filipino-American writers and publishers everywhere who continue in their journalistic aspirations and in service to their constituents in the new land they now call home.
PAPC membership is composed of the following publishers: ABS-CBN International, Asian Journal, FilAm Star, Manila Mail, Inquirer.net, Filipino American Radio Network, Philippine News, Philippine Headlines, Philippines Today, Power ng Pinoy TV, and GMA representatives.
For more information on the Plaridel Awards, visit www.papcusa.org, for inquiries email esther.chavez@inquirerinc.net or joseph.peralta@asianjournalinc.