CANDIDATES of The Freeman won this year's Mr. and Ms. Press Freedom held at Cebu Business Hotel Saturday, September 14, 2019.

John Kendrick Ceciban was named Mr. Press Freedom 2019, while Preciosa Bacalso was crowned Ms. Press Freedom.

Ceciban and Bacalso bested three other pairs of media practitioners who showcased their wit and charm in Saturday's search.

They won P10,000 each, gift packs from Titay's, a bouquet, and gift certificates from Golden Peak Hotel.

The runners-up are:

First runner-up: Kenneth Dwight Torres of SunStar and Donna Lavares of ABS-CBN

Second runner-up: Joworski Alipon of ABS-CBN and Wenilyn Sabalo of SunStar

Third runner-up: Gerard Vincent Francisco and Rosalie Abatayo of CDN Digital

The search for Mr. and Ms. Press Freedom opened the 2019 or 27th Cebu Press Freedom Week celebration in Cebu City. Lead convenor of this year's celebration is SunStar Cebu.

The search was sponsored by Cebu Business Hotel and Grab, and supported by PRWorks Inc., Golden Peak Hotel, Rhodel de Silva, Titay's and Filipiniana Wear by Nars Salazar Ochia.

On Sunday, September 14, media practitioners in Cebu will gather once again for the Opening Fellowship, which will be held in the morning. (SunStar Philippines)