Columnist Soriano quits Balita

Columnist Soriano quits Balita

TENNY SORIANO

TORONTO — Long-time columnist of Balita newspaper Tenny Soriano has abruptly quit writing for the twice-a-month publication after a stint of 11 years since 2001.

In a statement issued March 18 and sent to five Filipino Canadian publications, Soriano said his latest column for Balita was “distorted, censored and edited without my knowledge.”

Balita publisher and editorTess Cusipag said Soriano “mistook copy editing for censorship”. In her emailed response to this paper’s questions, she said she was “exercising judgment as publisher and editor.”

She said Soriano had “bad copy” and “has abruptly changed his tune… inconsistent with the paper’s pursuit of truth.”

Soriano was a writer and senior media strategist in Manila for the National Media Production Center while he worked as stringer for Philippine News Agency. He later worked as reporter with Philippine Daily Inquirer covering the transportation beat; as defense reporter with Philippine Daily Express and after EDSA 1986 uprising, as senior military and defense reporter with Manila Standard also at the same time as correspondent/stringer with Nihon Denpa News and Mainichi Broadcasting-Channel -5 of Japan