This was decided during a two-day meeting of the BIMP-EAGA Media and Communicators Association (BEMCA) in this Malaysian city that concluded today.
Details of the awards, however, were yet to be threshed out by a BEMCA committee and would be formally announced within the next few months, said Tina Cuyugan, communications consultant of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which is assisting BIMP-EAGA in its activities.
The awards, said editors from BIMP-EAGA newspapers and broadcast news agencies, were intended for journalists and residents in the area to be more aware of the cooperation among member countries in developing the sub-region.
BEMCA members also agreed to hold a training on economic news reporting, a field with very few practitioners throughout the sub-region.
Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, chair of the interim committee running BEMCA, said EAGA journalists needed to be equipped with knowledge on economic issues "to be able to accurately report on the development of the sub-regional cooperation".
Thirteen editors and five information officers from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and the Philippines attended the round-table forum at the Hyatt Regency here. Representatives from Indonesia, however, failed to come. There were also representatives from the ADB and the BIMP-EAGA Facilitation Center based in this city.
News agencies represented were the Brunei Times Sdn Bhd, Borneo Bulletin and Radio Television Brunei of Brunei Darussalam; New Strait Times, Bernama, New Sabah Times, Eastern Times, Daily Express and Radio Television Malaysia of Malaysia; and the Bandillo ng Palawan, Sun Star Davao and MindaNews of Mindanao.
The Mindanao-Palawan delegation was composed of Romeo Montenegro of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCO), Sergio Pontillas of Bandillo ng Palawan, Stella Estremera of Sun Star Davao and MindaNews' Bobby Timonera. (MindaNews).
