Raul V. Del Mar, 79.
Author of Cebu Press Freedom Day law and expanded Sotto law. Called “Kampeyon sa Medya” for legislative work on media concerns.
The Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) mourns the death of Raul V. Del Mar, congressman of Cebu City’s north district for nine terms, just two years short of a total of 29 years in public service.
Del Mar passed away early Monday night, Nov. 16 in a hospital in Manila where he had been attending virtual sessions of the House. He would’ve turned 80 on March 20.
Del Mar was the principal author of the law (Republic Act #11122 of 2018) declaring Sept. 21 of each year a working holiday in the cities and province of Cebu.
Del Mar also filed the original bill in the House, working for its passage through a number of Congresses, that became the law (Republic Act #114581 of 2019) expanding protection of the Sotto Law to include not just print journalists but also broadcast, online, and wire agency journalists. The law exempts specified journalists from revealing the source of their news except when security of the state is involved or a committee in Congress compels the disclosure.
A son of a journalist and manager of a local newspaper for a number of years, he had the media worker’s welfare at heart, helping the collective effort of media and citizens to have a free but responsible press in Cebu
and improve the craft of journalists. A trustee of the Cebu News Workers Foundation (Cenewof), Del Mar helped push the local media’s initiative to build the MBF Cebu Press Center in Lahug.
He vigorously supported such undertakings of the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC) as the Cebu Media Medical Aid Fund, Cebu Media Legal Aid (Cemla), CJJ Media Gallery at Museo Sugbo, and the CJJ Books section and CJJ multipurpose room at the Rizal Cebu City Library. He also helped the “Future Journalists Program” of University of the Philippines Cebu that renovated its newsroom and provided laptops and cameras and other equipment for writing and editing.
Broadcaster-newspaper columnist Leo Lastimosa sometime ago called Raul V. del Mar “Kampeyon sa Medya” in a Freeman column devoted to the congressman’s legislative work on media concerns.