Light moments amid the deadly delta coronavirus

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

David March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- September 1, Wednesday was exceptionally a blessing in disguise as it hosted an unexpected small and first ever reunion of former editors of the Baguio Midland Courier (BMC), or “Midland” for brevity, admittedly one of the longest running weekly community newspapers in the Cordillera or the Philippines.
    The day was actually booked for more serious events such as the 112th anniversary of the American colonizers’ law called the Baguio City charter that legitimized the land grabbing and sale of Ibaloy lands since 1909.
    There were other on-going incidents that day, including the forcible entry of a self-styled new management into the offices of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) along South Drive and the speech of Mayor Benjie Magalong at the Baguio Convention Center.
    But I found it more essential to meet up with colleagues in the media, considering that the Covid-19 pandemic has kept us from seeing each other even before the Luzon-wide lockdown was announced in March 2020.
    I do not know what went into the brain of People’s Television network (PTV4) boss Richard Valdez or why he suddenly wanted to host last Wednesday’s informal get-together. Although, he was not in a hurry to retire as I am sure he still had a few years to spend in government service.
    Richard has been in public service since his KB (Kabataan Barangay) days in the late 70s. I never got bored listening to his funny and sometimes risky exploits, including that time when then Martial Law strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos scolded him.
Fast forward to the years after the killer earthquake of 1990, we spent most of our time feeling like immortals on roads that led to news coverage in Kalinga, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Abra and the Ilocos provinces.
    For days, we moved in and out on the narrow and dusty Bontoc-Tinglayan road while police officials waited for Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) cadres to come down from the hills to return hundreds of M-14 Armalite rifles that were loaned to them by Cory’s revolutionary government in their fight against the New People’s Army (NPA).
    The news coverage continued for days until the police realized that it was pointless to be waiting for CPLA men who would never fulfill their promise to return the rifles in exchange for livelihood assistance. In the beginning, it was already a mistake to loan rifles to the paramilitary organization.
    For weeks on another news coverage in 1992, we occupied a room at the Chico Inn at Bontoc to stay close to the negotiation for the release of seven Tadian policemen kidnaped by the “nice people around”. The hostaged policemen were released after almost a month of dialogue.
    Eliral Refuerzo, publisher-owner of The Baguio Reporter (TBR) was with us last Wednesday. Eli or “Pedped” as he is known in other circles is the “jolly good fellow nobody can’t deny”. The guy in the song would never reveal what worries him in the expression of his face or by the movement of his body.
    But be alert when you are with him for a night out. Because Pedped is one who will pull out his gun, either for fun or to protect a friend in need. In all those times spent till the wee hours, his accounts of life will keep you awake.
    As fast as he could reach home before the big earthquake hit, Eli left Midland to lay out the maiden issue of TBR.
Northern Philippine Times (NPT) publisher Alfred P. Dizon skipped editorial work to join the group last Wednesday. When I left Midland to focus on another chapter of life, Alfred was there to stop me from worrying that the weekly paper might not hit the streets on Sunday.
    After years of putting to bed a weekly newspaper during sleepless weekends, Alfred in 2000 left to publish NPT. I am quite sure that just like Pedped, me and the earlier editors and news reporters who were ahead, he was grateful for the opportunity to edit Midland.
    Journalism is love of work, satisfies a newsman’s heart, exciting and challenging, and never boring. Although in comparison, news coverage before the pandemic was easier for all media formats. Suddenly, the conditions became more challenging because of Covid-19.
    Mainly due to the pandemic, online news, in addition to radio and television broadcast, is more prevalent compared to news print. However, I have the strong suspicion that newspapers will never be out of circulation because these can be kept in one’s drawer while news online could be deleted and radio-TV broadcasts could be forgotten next week.
    On rice fields, hills and mountains where the internet is not an animal and www.com does not exist, the newspaper is the main link to the outside world. An old newspaper yellowed through time is always good to read. The news is immortalized as long as the newspaper hard copy is kept.
    At least, that was my answer to the question of Leia Fidelis Castro-Margate, another ex- Midland editor who came to gather views from Richard, Pedped, Alfred, Ed Carta and I regarding news coverage amid the pandemic.
    It was a rare occasion to see Leia, a former editor, interview other former editors and PTV4 boss Richard, and to see that they were all looking healthy with their masks on. 
    Not only that, the lunch hosted by Richard at the Baguio Country Club was healthy too. Let’s do this more often.