GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 18 Sept) — Almost 21 years after he was killed in Jolo, Sulu, the legacy of photojournalist Gene Boyd Lumawag continues through the Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines (PCP).
Lumawag was the first photo editor of MindaNews and also a correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. An active member of PCP, he represented the Philippines at the Asia-Europe Young Photographers Forum (AEYPF) in Amsterdam in 2003.
On November 12, 2004, Lumawag, 26, was with a MindaNews team conducting interviews and research on good governance in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for a book project and video production.
While photographing the sunset at the pier in Jolo, an unidentified gunman shot him in the head, killing him instantly. He was the ninth Filipino journalist killed that year and the 58th since the restoration of democracy in 1986.
To this day, Lumawag’s murder remains unresolved. Although suspects were charged, conflicting accounts and a lack of accountability have left his family and colleagues with unanswered questions.
For years, Lumawag’s father, the late veteran photographer Rene B. Lumawag, quietly marked November 12 with candles at his son’s grave in Davao City until his passing in 2019.
To preserve Lumawag’s memory and support aspiring photojournalists, PCP promotes professional and ethical photojournalism through its programs.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, PCP announced that it is offering two grants for its 17th Gene Boyd Lumawag Workshop.
The grants are open to Filipino college students currently working with a school publication who have basic photography skills and aspire to pursue a career in photojournalism.
The workshop will be held in Tarlac City on November 26–30, 2025. PCP said it will give priority to applicants from Central Luzon provinces—Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.
The grant covers full participation in the workshop; however, grantees are responsible for their own round-trip travel and related costs. Applications close on Sept. 30, 2025, at 12 noon.
Founded in 1997 by working photojournalists, PCP is a non-profit organization that aims to professionalize photojournalism in the country.
It has also partnered with international institutions such as the World Press Photo Foundation and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) to enhance the skills and ethical standards of Filipino photojournalists.
Two decades after his death, justice for Lumawag has yet to be delivered. Yet, through PCP and the young photojournalists who benefit from the grant, his name continues to inspire the next generation. (Guia Rebollido / MindaNews)
