THE Zamboanga Press Club, Incorporated (ZPCI) held Wednesday night a mass media awards, the first ever to be held in Zamboanga City.
The Oscar's-like First Mass Media Awards was held at the Marcian Garden Hotel Convention Center and attended by officials of the different government agencies, which presented the nominees and announced the winners.
The winners received crystalized customized trophies in recognition of their feat as members of Zamboanga City's fourth estate.
Lhesy Monroy of the tri-weekly Zamboanga Peninsula Journal bagged the trophy for the Best News Writer in the print category, as she outsmarted her one and only nominee-rival from other local newspapers.
Kuskus Batikus of Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) won as the Best Radio Public Affairs Program besting over four other radio stations' public affairs programs.
Cora Bañez-Francisco, host of the Catholic Media Network (CMN) DXVP's Hora de Arangkada, won as the Best Radio Public Affairs Program Host over the other four nominees.
Arangkada Chavacano, newscaster of the Radio Philippines Network (RPN), won as the Best Radio Newscast and bested three other nominated radio newscasts, while Ester Doroteo, also of RPN, bagged the trophy in the Best Newscaster Category.
Of the four nominees, JV Francisco of CMN's DXVP grabbed the trophy as he was adjudged the Best Radio Reporter.
The Chavacano TV Patrol of ABS-CBN Zamboanga was adjudged as the Best TV Newscast outsmarting one rival TV newscast.
Jewel Mendoza-Reyes of ABS-CBN Zamboanga was the Best TV Newscaster while David Santos also of ABS-CBN-Zamboanga bested six other nominees for the Best TV Reporter category.
ABS-CBN cameraman Edgar Soberano was adjudged the Best Cameraman beating three other nominees.
Second District Congressman Erico Basilio Fabian received the Lifetime Achievement Award being the only local media personality who rose from being a radio reporter to a lawmaker.
Fabian who joined the media industry in 1978 was elected city councilor and has served for three terms.
In 2001, Fabian was elected as this city's vice mayor and more than two years after, he became the city mayor by succession following the demise of the late mayor Maria Clara Lobregat.
In 2004, Fabian was elected as congressman. In 2007, he was elected again and this time as second district congressman when Zamboanga City was divided into two congressional districts. In the recent automated polls, Fabian again won in Zamboanga City's second congressional district.
The Board of Judges of the mass media awards were Ricardo Villanueva, a management consultant and former Philippine Information Agency (PIA) regional director; Leon Omoso, former PIA deputy director-general; Professor Joy Mendoza, chairperson of the Western Mindanao State University's mass communication department; and Edgar Baños, Ateneo de Zamboanga University's acting chairman of the mass communication department.
The First Mass Media Awards was supported by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Pag-Ibig Fund, Philippine Long Distance Telephone company, second district Congressman Erico Basilio Fabian, Land Bank of the Philippines, Naval Forces Western Mindanao, Western Mindanao Command, Metro Stonerich Corporation, Zamboanga City Government headed by Mayor Celso Lobregat, Southway Mall, Universidad de Zamboanga, Zamboanga City Water District, San Miguel Corporation, Medika, Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative and Sky Cable.
Jerry Lacastesantos, ZPCI president, expressed his gratitude for all those who supported the first-ever mass media awards.
Lacastesatos also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to mediaman Al Alhabshi, who brought up the idea of holding the event. (Bong Garcia)