Engaging campus journalists,
and starting them young

More than 200 students and faculty members attended the first leg of the Maguindanao on-campus series in the University of the Philippines – Los Banos

FOR MORE THAN two decades now, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) has been known not only for producing in-depth reports on social issues and crucial matters of public interest, but also for organizing training seminars and holding forums for journalists, as well as for students and teachers.

Recently, the PCIJ, led by Training Director Che de los Reyes and Multi-media Director Ed Lingao, organized a series of documentary film viewing and discussions on media killings and the culture of impunity in various colleges and universities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

The first leg of the on-campus activities was held last September at the University of the Philippines-Los Banos (UP-LB), with more than 200 students and faculty members of the College of Development Communication attending.

In November, three Manila campuses — St. Scholastica’s College, University of the East, and Centro Escolar University (CEU) — were visited by the PCIJ. The visits also coincided with the third anniversary of the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre.

PCIJ Multi-media Director Ed Lingao discussed the state of the Philippine media to CEU Mass Communication students.

During the activities, Lingao showed “Maguindanao: Quest for Justice”, one of the five documentaries produced by the PCIJ on the spate of media killings in the Philippines. This particular episode focused on the status of the multiple murder charges against prominent members of the Ampatuan clan, and their continued domination of the political and economic aspects of Maguindanao life. As well, the episode looked into the continuing plight of the families of the victims of the massacre, and their efforts to resist offers for an out-of-court settlement in exchange for their withdrawal from the case.

During the discussions that followed the film showing, Lingao also talked about the continuing spate of media killings and the culture of impunity that continues to pervade the country.

In one of the campus visits, the PCIJ also gave the audience a sneak preview of the latest documentary of the PCIJ on the Ampatuan assets with the screening of “Lipat-Bahay” at the Centro Escolar University in Mendiola. The documentary was shown to CEU students even before it was broadcast on national television by GMANewsTV.

Then in March this year, PCIJ Training Director Che de los Reyes was among the speakers in the first University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) Orientation-Training of Mass Media Practitioners and Campus Journalists in Northern Samar, where more than 40 journalists and campus journalists participated.

PCIJ Training Director Che de los Reyes gave a basic introduction to investigative reporting during the office visit of UP-LB Development Communication students.

During the three-day training, De los Reyes gave a lecture on basic investigative reporting, investigative methods, and trails.

Sometimes though, schools don’t bother to invite PCIJ editors and reporters to visit; instead, the school comes to the PCIJ.

Some of the schools that have visited the PCIJ office in Scout de Guia, Quezon City or requested lectures include the University of the Philippines-Los Banos, Lyceum University, and St. Dominic College of Asia.

UP-LB Development Journalism Department Assistant Professor Kabzeel Sheba Catapang shared to PCIJ some of her students’ thoughts on their visit to the PCIJ office last March.

Paoloregel Samonte, a Development Communication junior in UPLB, expressed his high regard for the Center for its contributions to the field of journalism, and how it has inspired him to do better: “I have been to their office before, and I was also present during their brief lecture in UPLB, and I must admit that they are one of the media organizations I look up to. I never get tired of hearing about what they do, and I admire how they provide the masses with credible and extensive journalism that is not profit-oriented. I especially like the part of our visit when Ms. Che de los Reyes gave us a glimpse of how investigative journalism works, and an account of their experiences as investigative journalists. The visit challenged me more to do better in my field as a development communicator.”

Two students also expressed disbelief after visiting the PCIJ office, saying they expected a larger office with more personnel.(The 12 people who make up the PCIJ’s plantilla are happily cramped in a small room in Quezon City, thank you very much.)

“[T]he most interesting place we have visited was the PCIJ. Indeed, it was quite a shock to see their office. I was expecting a two- or three-storey building for them alone. But it was a small office in a building! It made me realize that certainly a small and crowded office is never a hindrance for a fair and grassroots-oriented journalism. It was an amazing experience to sit inside an office where stories are being collated and researched about; it is a privilege,” said Genica Bea Corpuz.

“I liked the PCIJ. Before the trip, I really had no idea what PCIJ was. I thought it was a big company producing newspapers similar to PDI or MB. I thought wrong… Despite how little their office is, and how few their resources are, PCIJ made me realize that the motivation to do good for the country is not necessarily profit or money. I saw this conviction as the speaker was discussing their work,” Allenor Enciso commented.

Catapang has already partnered with PCIJ for three activities, all for this school year. The first was the documentary film viewing and discussion on media killings, and the other two were office visits and lectures for the first and second semester.