An Eventful, Meaningful Year

An Eventful, Meaningful Year

By Mila Astorga-Garcia

TORONTO YEARENDER: Major stories, events covered by The Philippine Reporter in 2014

Community action in the Yolanda disaster, journalist forums, Jeffrey Reodica, Philippine Reporter milestones, Marshall McLuhan Fellows, PH national day, fashion week, Taste of Manila, unprecedented Pinoy participation in municipal elections, caregiver-immigrant issues, ethnic media awards, human rights and torture, Pinoy Christmas food

Close on the heels of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda that wrecked people’s lives in the Philippines, 2014 arrived with a deluge of news, features, and commentaries which were in the first issues of the The Philippine Reporter.

While the Philippine news we carried centered on the status of relief from the Philippine government – which was being criticized extensively as slow, non-existent in some areas, disorganized, hampered by political bickering, if not by lack of political will – the international humanitarian aid, which was being delivered on their own by groups, without any media attention; and the family, Church and people’s networks which were reported to be most trustworthy, prompt and effective relief distributors; our local news stories and photos focused on various relief efforts organized by the Filipino-Canadian community in churches, community organizations, schools, migrant associations, and others.

We ran an extensive exclusive feature, “Yolanda Aftermath in Tanauan, Leyte,” based on the on-the-spot coverage of one of the most devastated areas of the storm, by the editors themselves who conducted interviews with town officials and townspeople alike during their visit to the place. The visit confirmed that “at the grassroots, a deep sense of neglect by government persist,” while a lot of gratitude was expressed for help coming from the non-government and private sectors. Also, it was noted that there was self-help organizing by the townspeople who showed determination to rise from the misery in their own way.

Towards the second quarter of the year, we resumed reporting on the Speakers Series featuring veteran journalists, started by the Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO) in 2013, continuing into 2014. Profiles of the speakers and coverage of the forums graced our pages, starting with that of Kris Reyes (co-host of Global News’s “The Morning Show”; and Marivel Taruc (Senior Reporter and host of CBC’s “Our Toronto”) in 2013; and in 2014, Sheila Coronel (Dean for Academic Affairs for the Columbia Journalism School in New York, and then director of the Toni Stabile Centre for Investigative Journalism of the same school); and Zuraidah Alman, news anchor and reporter for CTV.

The PPCO speakers series was a successful extension of PPCO speakers forums of previous years where we featured two prominent veteran Filipino journalists who had made a name in the international media community: Jaime FlorCruz, then CNN Bureau Chief in Beijing and Eric Baculinao, NBC Bureau Chief in Beijing. As an educational and professional development initiative introduced by past PPCO president Hermie Garcia, the series in 2013-2014 focused on featuring Filipino-Canadian journalists who made their mark in mainstream media, so their stories of hard work, persistence, journalistic ethics would serve as good examples to young aspiring writers in the community.

In May, PPCO elected a new set of officers headed by the new president Rose Tijam.

In May, the paper covered the commemoration of the10th Anniversary of the shooting death of Jeffrey Reodica by an officer of the Toronto Police Service, at a memorial gathering at Nathan Phillips Square. Family, friends, and social justice advocates attending the event were still crying for justice for Jeffrey, our reporter noted in her article.

2014 was the year when we welcomed two Marshall McLuhan Fellows: Aileen Mangubat, publisher and then acting editor-in-chief of Cebu Daily News, the Marshall McLuhan Fellow for 2013, who came in Feb 2014; and Cheche Lazaro, TV investigative series Probe founder, Marshall MacLuhan Fellow for 2014. Both the profiles of these veteran journalists and their meetings with PPCO members were featured in our pages.

2014 was a high point of our history when The Philippine Reporter marked its 25th anniversary of successful publishing. The paper’s early beginnings and growth into an institution in the Filipino, ethnic and mainstream communities was featured in The Origami online magazine, the Toronto Star, and the online New Canada Media.

Another highlight of the year was the archiving of the 25-year print collection of The Philippine Reporter in the prestigious Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library of the University of Toronto Libraries, making it the only ethnic publication in the collection of the biggest repository of rare books and manuscripts in Canada.

We celebrated our 25th year milestone with staff – old and new – family, colleagues from the Filipino, ethnic and international journalist organizations, friends, government officials, social justice advocates, migrant workers and community organizations during a gala dinner at the Rembrandt Banquet Hall in Toronto. It was a joyous and glorious occasion for everyone and the community who have been part of the paper’s growth in the past 25 years. The occasion was featured in the paper’s special anniversary issue (June 13-26, 2014), which coincided with our special stories on Philippine Independence.

There were a number of annual Philippine Independence Day events this year, including the various festivals and cultural events, covered in the paper. Although not part of the Philippine Independence Day celebrations, Taste of Manila, a Pinoy festival featuring Filipino food in a strategic street intersection in Toronto, Bathurst and Wilson, now being called Little Manila, was successful in drawing a huge crowd, with participating restaurants enjoying unprecedented sales. Featured delicacies were fast gone long before the festival was over, with customers craving for more. All community newspapers, including The Philippine Reporter, noted the festival’s huge success, based on the numbers of people it had attracted. It was also featured in Toronto Star.

The Canada-Philippine Fashion Week 2014 showcasing Philippine designers and their creations attracted a lot of mainstream audience and media interest, with articles and images of it featured in mainstream papers, Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail.

In the midst of these celebrations came the news on the clamp down on immigrants as a result of the revamp of the foreign temporary workers program and later the Live-in-Caregivers Program. In general, migrants are now being subjected to stricter rules, stiffer penalties, higher fees, with a cap on entry and stay. These changes have been met with protests by migrant organizations and advocates – whose advocacy position papers and protest actions have been featured in the paper’s pages. Pinoy groups have since pushed harder for permanent landed status for caregivers, as members of the Filipino community attended consultation meetings with government representatives, organized rallies and conducted press conferences. When the changes to the caregiver program were finally announced, caregivers and advocates noted although the live-in requirement was removed, caregivers are no longer able to automatically apply for permanent residency. And if they do, requirements are much more restrictive to eligibility.

Meanwhile, as activist groups such as Migrante, Anak Bayan, Gabriela and advocates have rallied for caregivers, they have also called for justice for Evelyn Bumatay Castillo, a 43 year-old caregiver murdered in October 11 in Mississauga, Canada, and the murder of Jennifer Laude in Olongapo, Philippines, both murders happening coincidentally on the same day. The aim of the protest action was to highlight the gender-based violence that Filipino women face, in the Philippines and in Canada. The protesters noted that instead of justice being done to these victims, they are instead being accused of other wrongdoings.

The Philippine Reporter published a special issue on Toronto’s mayoral bets, and 17 Pinoy candidates in the GTA, featuring interviews of some of them, and a covering a PPCO event of the Filipino political hopefuls as they bared their platforms and their stand on key issues. Although only four of the 17 hopefuls were successfully elected – 3 of them re-electionists, and one elected back to a former position years after she had left – the paper noted the phenomenal participation of Filipinos in this year’s municipal elections, in terms of numbers and serious interest. This is being attributed not only to the growing numbers of the Filipino population, their increased involvement in mainstream affairs, but also the generally increased maturity of the Filipino-Canadian community and the realization of their important contributions in Canadian society. In a post-election article, some of the unsuccessful candidates looked at their first attempt to be a learning experience that will help in future elections.

Towards year-end, The Philippine Reporter yet achieved another recognition: the paper was awarded among a few for Best Editorial and Visual Presentation, its fifth award in the same category in 11 years, by the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) during ceremonies officiated by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell. CBC journalist Marivel Taruc, in the same awards ceremony, was also honored for her dedication to media and service to all Canadians.

The Philippine Reporter this year announced the appointment of a new Philippine Ambassador to Canada in the person of Ambassador Petronila P. Garcia.

For its year-end Christmas issue, The Philippine Reporter featured three of the most popular Filipino restaurants in Toronto, FV Foods, Remely’s and Kabalen. Also, in observance of International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10), it featured staff-written human rights stories: a forum held by the International Coalition of Human Right Philippines-Canada to raise awareness about the negative impact of mining exploration resulting in human rights violations against people in mining communities around the world; and a coverage of an Amnesty International event focusing on Philippine torture survivor Jerryme Corre who was brutally tortured by police. The Philippines was one of the five countries that were the focus of Amnesty International’s Human Rights Campaign this year to stop torture. As part of the human rights commemoration, AI volunteers who participated in an on-the-spot letter writing campaign in support of victims of human rights violations, joined other advocates in a call to action rally to uphold human rights.