DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 24 March) – The Davao Media-Citizen Council (DMCC) on Saturday elected its officers from representatives of various fields — media, business, law and academe.
MindaNews’ Special Reports Editor Carolyn O. Arguillas was elected chair while Antonio Peralta representing the business sector was elected vice chair. Peralta chairs the Southern Mindanao Business Council (SMBC) of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).
Derf Maiz, Director of Social Communication, Promotion, and Media Center at Holy Cross of Davao College, Inc., was elected Secretary, Vina Araneta-Pilapil of PTV-4 Davao was elected Treasurer and lawyer Danilo Balucos of the Union of Peoples Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) was elected auditor.
The Davao Media-Citizen Council elected its officers on Saturday, 23 March 2024 at the Rogen Inn in Davao City. Photo by Ariel Sebellino
Arguillas, who also heads the Publications, Archives and Library of the Mindanao Institute of Journalism, served as editor-in-chief of MindaNews until May 31, 2023. She co-founded MindaNews in 2001and before that was Mindanao Bureau Chief of the Philippine Daily Inquirer from 1991 to 2001.
Peralta, interim DMCC chair, is also Honorary Consul to Mindanao of the Embassy of Finland, Corporate Secretary of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Mindanao Inc. and Executive Director of FREEDOM (Foundation for Rural Enterprise and Ecology Development of Mindanao), Inc., a non-profit organization that works in the areas of rural economic development, health education, environmental projects, gender equality, among others. Communities that they assisted have benefited i
n adopting improved farming technologies that incorporate climate change adaptation as well as farmer-level disaster risk reduction management.
Before joining the academe, Maiz was a television reporter and morning news anchor of GMA Davao from 2007 to 2013 and was station manager of 105.9 Balita FM from 2014 to 2016.
Araneta-Pilapil was a reporter of ABS-CBN in Davao City until 2020 when the franchise
of the country’s number one television network was not renewed. She now heads the news division of the state-run People’s Television Network- Mindanao. She was the lone Filipino among the 10 fellows of the Dart Centre Asia Pacific last year.
Araneta-Pilapil is also the lone Mindanawon among nine Filipino journalists who will go on an 18-day reporting tour in the United States from April 20 to May 8, organized by the US Embassy in the Philippines in partnership with CDRF Global.
The reporting tour aims to introduce Filipino journalists to US institutions, foreign policy, innovation, and culture to deepen their understanding of the different aspects of the US-Philippine bilateral relationship.
Balucos is a private law practitioner, a law professor and is auditor of the UPLM.
Induction of officers is on May 11, on the same day the DMCC will host its World Press Freedom Day activity. The WPFD is an annual event celebrated on May 3. This year’s theme is “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis.”
The DMCC is one of nine media-citizen councils established nationwide by the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) with support from its partners.
Prior to the DMCC meeting, a PPI seminar was held with Yvonne Chua, professor at the College of Mass Communication at the University of the Philippines lecturing on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Journalism while Bulatlat’s editor in chief Len Olea discussed digital security.
According to the PPI, media-citizen councils are multi-sectoral, community-based, independent and media-citizen driven.
“More than an organization, it is a mechanism by and in itself for redress and resolving conflicts between and among media and those who complain about inaccuracies in (their) news reports via mediation through Appropriate Dispute Resolution,” it said.
The council also work under the framework of the Philippine Initiative under the Philippine Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists and the framework of “independent media self/co-regulation, media accountability and safety, ethical and responsible journalism, good journalism as a public good.” It maintains strategic engagements with various sectors in the community, including the local government unit, government agencies, and law enforcers.
In other media developments in Mindanao, two MindaNews reporters were earlier elected as leaders of their respective media organizations. Senior reporter Froilan Gallardo took his oath as President of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club in Cagayan de Oro City while correspondent Ferdinandh B. Cabrera was elected chair of the Kampilan Press Corps in Cotabato City, the lone press club in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and south-central Mindanao. (MindaNews)
