‘I will miss Neal’s columns’

I am saddened as I read through the Inquirer’s Opinion section today, knowing full well the absence from its pages of the peerless commentaries and insights of my good friend Neal Cruz, who passed away on July 28, 2015.

I join the countless readers who will sorely miss Neal’s columns in the Inquirer. As like so many other Filipinos, reading his columns was a regular habit of mine. I often looked forward to what he had to say on the most pressing issues of the day—which often involved what we did in the Senate.

Indeed as his column is named, “As I See It,” Neal always told his stories through his sharp, in-depth and principled take on Philippine society. The many decades that spanned his writing career never dulled Neal away from being a firebrand journalist you could count on to expose and oppose those who are criminal, abusive and corrupt.
One does not need to always agree with journalists like Neal to recognize their abilities and value their contributions as outstanding members of the Fourth Estate, and as stalwarts of free speech and democracy.

I hope that the young writers of the present generation will share and be inspired by Neal’s excellence and passion for the practice of journalism, and its crucial role and responsibilities to the nation and the Filipino people.
On behalf of the Senate, thank you, Neal Cruz. The Filipino media have truly lost one of its greatest sons.

—SEN. FRANKLIN M. DRILON,
Senate president