Cebu’s media community ended Press Freedom Week on a different beat.
The 34th celebration closed at Casino Español de Cebu on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, after a week of summits, forums, sports activities and gatherings that brought journalists together beyond their usual assignments.
The closing fellowship was less about the day’s headlines at all. There was food, there were drinks and, eventually, there was dancing.
The three Ds (drinks, dine and dance) set the tone for the evening. Journalists from different beats, accustomed to meeting over press conferences and shared sources, were suddenly teammates on the dance floor, armed with colorful wigs, throwback costumes and rehearsed choreography.
Many of the groups were made up of journalists who regularly cross paths in the field. They share sources, cover the same stories and sometimes find themselves on opposite sides of a press conference. This time, they were working toward the same thing: putting together a dance.
The Cebu Capitol Association of Reporters in Tri-Media (Cart) took the grand prize, followed by the Defense PNP Press Corps (Depp) in second place and Online Journalists (OJ) in third.
The groups were judged based on set criteria, including how effectively their performances delivered a message. The routines may have been playful, but each group was expected to leave the audience with something to take away.
The 80s theme made the dance floor even livelier. Big hair, colorful costumes, throwback looks and familiar moves brought a little bit of the decade back to Casino Español, with fellow media workers cheering and singing along.
The editors also joined the competition, marking their first-ever dance presentation in Cebu Press Freedom Week. They performed to the 1980s hit “Body Dancer,” trading their usual seats behind desks for the dance floor.
Raffles kept the crowd going between performances, with prizes from sponsors Ayala, GCash and Globe. More than 20 media workers went home with cash prizes, brand-new smartphones, laptops and other technology that could also be useful in their work.
For a community that spends much of its time moving from one assignment to another, the closing fellowship offered a rare chance to slow down.
Journalists who usually meet at press conferences, government briefings, crime scenes and other assignments were sitting at the same tables, sharing meals, drinks and stories that had little to do with the day’s coverage.
The week may have centered on press freedom and the responsibilities that come with the profession, but its closing night also showed another side of being part of Cebu’s media community.
Sometimes, reinvigorating the newsroom spirit can happen outside the newsroom.
When the music started, deadlines could wait — until next year’s Press Freedom Week, Cebu-style! S