Gawad Plaridel Award

UP Gawad Plaridel
Awarded for	Adherence to highest professional and ethical standards and excellence in mass media
Country	Philippines
Presented by	University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication
First awarded	2004
Official website	masscomm.upd.edu.ph

The U.P. Gawad Plaridel is the sole award in the University of the Philippines System given to outstanding media practitioners.

The Gawad bestows honor on Filipino media practitioners who have excelled in any of the media (print, film, radio, television, and new media) and performed with the highest level of professional integrity in the interest of public service. The recognition, which comes with a trophy sculpted by National Artist Napoleon V. Abueva, is given to one practitioner in one medium for each year. The awardee is expected to deliver the Plaridel Lecture which addresses important media issues.

Award profile

Marcelo H. del Pilar, Filipino journalist-reformist, was the inspiration for the UP Gawad Plaridel awarded by the College of Mass Communication.

The award is named after Marcelo H. del Pilar (nom de plume, Plaridel),^[1] the selfless propagandist whose stewardship of the reformist newspaper La Solidaridad from 1889 to 1895 helped crystallize nationalist sentiments and ignite libertarian ideas, mainly through his 150 essays and 66 editorials published under the nom de plume Plaridel. A crusading journalist, this native of Bulacan served as editor of the vernacular section of the Diariong Tagalog (Tagalog Newspaper), the first Philippine bilingual newspaper, in 1882. Among his major publications were Dasalan at Tocsohan (Prayerbook and Teasing Game), Pasyong Dapat Ipag-alab nang Puso nang Tauong Babasa (Passion That Should Inflame the Heart of the Reader), and La Soberania Monacal en Filipinas (Monastic Supremacy in the Philippines), all published in 1889.

From 1890 to around 1895, he edited and published La Solidaridad almost on his own because funds for the support of the fortnightly had become more and more difficult to raise in the Philippines. Del Pilar slowly lost hope in reforms and began to entertain the possibility of the Philippines separating from Mother Spain.

Pining for his mother country and suffering from tuberculosis, Del Pilar died in Barcelona, Spain on July 4, 1896 at the age of 45.

Like Plaridel, the recipient of this award must believe in the vision of a Philippine society that is egalitarian, participative, and progressive, and in media that are socially responsible, critical and vigilant, liberative and transformative, and free and independent.

Given annually, it started in 2004 with Eugenia Apostol, publisher and founding chair of the Philippine Daily Inquirer as its first awardee.^[2] In 2005, it was awarded to premier actress and current Batangas governor Vilma Santos, PhD honoris causa, for film.^[3] Veteran radio broadcaster Fidela Mendoza-Magpayo, a.k.a. 'Tiya Dely', was the 2006 recipient. Cheche Lazaro received the award for 2007.

2008: Community Print Media

For 2008, Pachico A. Seares, editor-in-chief of Sun.Star Cebu and Sun.Star Superbalita (Cebu), was chosen as the recipient of the award for his "outstanding contributions to the print media industry."^[4] The judges cited Seares' contributions to community journalism, among them: his major help in steering Sun.Star Cebu and Sun.Star Superbalita [Cebu] to become the readership and advertising leaders among community newspapers in the country, his “continuing advocacy on issues that serve community interest, adopting and implementing journalism values that serve as example to Sun.Star affiliate papers in their respective areas, inspiring the community and regarding the people as citizens who can help the community.”

After the awarding rites, Seares delivered the Plaridel Lecture entitled "The Future of Community Newspapers," which situated the country's community print media today, presented the success story behind the two publications he heads and its growth into a network of publications, and presented prospects for the field in the future.

2009: Independent Film

Independent filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik (real name: Eric de Guia) was the recipient of the UP Gawad Plaridel for 2009.^[5] Known for his repertoire of independent films that mirror Filipino culture, including "Mababangong Bangungot," Tahimik encouraged budding film-makers and mass communication students to unleash the "sariling duwende" in producing their own motion pictures.

2010: No awardee

For the first time, no one bagged the Gawad Plaridel in 2010, which was supposed to honor an individual who made significant contributions to community radio. In a statement issued by the UP College of Mass Communication, it was said that while many of the nominees had made a mark in the industry, they were yet to achieve the highest level of professionalism and public service expected of a Gawad Plaridel recipient. UP CMC also acknowledged the fact that community radio is relatively young but still had room to develop itself into a mass medium worthy of recognition.

2011: Radio

Radio drama talent and director Eloisa Cruz-Canlas received the 2011 Gawad Plaridel for her work in Philippine radio drama through the years.^[6] The awarding ceremonies for Canlas were held on July 20 at the UP Film Institute in Diliman, Quezon City. Canlas was the executive producer of Drama Sa Nuebe Nubenta over DZIQ Radyo Inquirer 990 and has worked with DZRH and Radyo Natin-Nueva Ecija for many years, portraying the popular character Lola Sela.

2012: Television

The 2012 Gawad Plaridel recipient was Florence Danon-Gayda or more popularly known as Rosa Rosal for her outstanding contributions to the broadcasting industry, particularly in the field of television.^[7] The UP College of Mass Communication honored Rosa Rosal with this recognition for her contribution to the Philippine Television industry, particularly in affecting media for public service. She is widely known for her efforts, privately and through her TV programs to promote blood donation and upgrading of Red Cross facilities, hospitals and clinics.^[8]

2013: Print

The 2013 U.P. Gawad Plaridel recipient was Jose F. Lacaba, also known as Pete Lacaba.^[9] Lacaba has put his considerable writing and communication skills, despite perils to his life, in the service of the Filipino struggle for social transformation, independence, and progress during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s through the Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage collection and other articles and screenplays that were based on actual events and issues such as Sister Stella L., Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim, and Orapronobis.

2014: Transmedia: Film, Music and Television

Nora Cabaltera Villamayor' or popularly known as Nora Aunor was the recipient of the 2014 U.P. Gawad Plaridel. She was recognized for her "unique artistry and versatility as a singer," as well as for "portraying with keen intelligence and uncommon sensitivity an amazing range of cinematic roles." UP CMC also cited Ms. Aunor for using her “tremendous popularity as an opportunity to (help) the masses...appreciate films and plays that dramatized and analyzed the abject conditions of the Filipino majority and the poor and powerless characters that she played with conviction.”^[10][11]

2015: Film

Ricardo Lee or Ricky Lee is the 2015 recipient of U.P. Gawad Plaridel, The one astounding practice of the tribe is the raising of Lee has produced a body of work that is marked by excellence through considerable writing of memorable films such as Himala, Jaguar, Salome, Moral, Karnal — films that tackled taboos and modern moralities in Philippine cinema. He has also put forward a distinct voice of the scriptwriter in the collaborative process of filmmaking and uplifted the role and the integrity of the scriptwriting profession that is rarely placed in the spotlight.^[12][13]

References