HANDS-ON MOLDING OF FUTURE JOURNALISTS — This project, being planned through the collaborative efforts of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (Pangasinan chapter) and Fourth District Rep. Christopher de Venecia, should push through.

It will greatly benefit aspiring journalists in Dagupan City and other areas in the fourth congressional district.

The plan is to provide free Journalism trainings and workshops for the students, especially those in public schools.

Broadcast practitioners under the KBP are willing to share their skills free of charge to the students.

De Venecia, former editor of The Philippine Star’s Young Star section that comes out every Friday, and also former editor of CHALK Magazine, both circulated nationwide, has a lot of experience and important knowledge to impart to the students at no cost to them.

Such plan was initially discussed in a courtesy call of the KBP officers to the young lawmaker in his Bonuan Binloc, Dagupan City residence on June 20.

Both the KBP and De Venecia want to harness the skills of students who may want to be a journalist someday, like them-either in broadcast, whether television or radio, or in print, both newspapers and magazines.

If practicing journalists would tell their stories about their work, it would somehow inspire them and entice them to pursue the vocation.

Of course, this is not to compete with the Department of Education that also gathers students every year for their division, city, regional and national schools press conferences. They, too, invite some practicing media practitioners.

KBP’s and De Venecia’s plan would be to complement their work.

The only difference here is, all the speakers and trainors, are practicing mediamen.

The information they would share through their power point presentations during the lecture is not based on textbooks alone. There will also be hands-on trainings, including a visit to their radio or television stations or the print’s editorial offices.

They would let students see, understand, feel the real world of the media.

And all these would be shared at no cost to them. Yes, it will be free. No worries about honoraria for the speakers.

When I joined the meeting as mere observer, I heard my colleagues say, and I believe them so, that they will do it for free, for the sake of our budding journalists.

You see, I, myself, would like to develop a student who would truly embrace Journalism.

We have a dearth of qualified writers and broadcasters.

Or if there are, when they graduate, they would opt to work in another profession.

So perhaps it would be good to instill in them the love, the passion, the interest to join our ranks.

As dwIZ Station Manager Orly Navarro whispered to me in that meeting, “Ako nga, problema ko, wala nang susunod na sa akin.”

Go for this project, KBP. It’s about time we join hands together to produce the next generation of writers/broadcasters. – Tita Roces

 

SAVE THE DE VENECIA HIGHWAY. Has anyone noticed the excavation of one side of the Jose de Venecia Expressway Extension by PLDT?

It is preparatory to the installation of underground cable needed for the expansion of its operations in Dagupan.

I hope they have the necessary permits for this not only from the Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH) but also from the City Engineering Office.

This project may be necessary but there must be an assurance that such excavation will not damage our finest road in Dagupan City today.

This highway was built sometime in 2003 to 2007 when Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., now special envoy of President Rodrigo Duterte was at the peak of his political power.

Was (and is) the excavation necessary? Couldn’t PLDT have negotiated with landowners along the highway to grant them some leeway to dig in front of their properties instead of the highway’s cemented road?

The highway, a legacy from JdV, was made to last for generations but if diggings of the cemented road are allowed for every expansion project of utility companies, we may now be seeing its last breath.

What more public utility companies will also be allowed to dig up the cement road for their expansion plans?

If this is tolerated, it won’t be long before the De Venecia highway suffers the fate of highways that ended up like patched work from beginning to end.

Very scenic, the JDV Expressway Extension is one highway that identifies Dagupan from the rest of the cities in Pangasinan and the entire Philippines and was carved out of fishpond lands that once settled on muddy clay. So, its maintenance must be treated with utmost care.

Series of diggings will shorten the life span of our dear highway. – Leonardo Micua

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