I thank the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) for naming me, though unworthy and without my prior knowledge, as the “Journalist of the Year—Law,” with this citation: “For his prolific work and prodigious excellence in writing about law and justice with depth, clarity, and command of language, thereby strengthening the people’s faith in the third and often misunderstood branch of government, the judiciary. He is today the No. 1 columnist of the Inquirer. He has written 12 [should be 14] books on law, faith, and the Supreme Court.”
IN MY ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, I lauded three “Mega Media Movers” to whom I owe this precious recognition at the sunset of my humble life: MOPC chair Antonio “Tony” Lopez, retired Inquirer chair Marixi R. Prieto, and GMA Network chair and CEO Felipe “Henry” L. Gozon.
Tony texted me about the MOPC’s action and asked me to attend the award ceremony at the Fairmont Hotel, Makati, on Oct. 25, stressing that, significantly, the last time MOPC gave similar awards was 78 years ago. I replied, “Thank you, Tony, but I am not worthy of the appellation ‘Journalist,’ which is given only to battle-tested stars of the journalism profession, much less of the title, ‘Journalist of the Year.’ At best, I am just an ACCIDENTAL WRITER; in short, tsamba lang ‘yon.”
Unperturbed, he asked what I thought of the MOPC citation, I replied “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” That word is typical of how lawyers, like me, tend to be highfalutin, muddled, and long-worded. In contrast, journalists of the MOPC write clearly and simply, which I try to imitate. Anyway, Tony still got his wish. I dutifully attended and received (together with Inquirer awardee “Business Writer of the Year” Dax Lucas, and other media talents more worthy than me)—to use Tony’s words—the: “Specially designed trophies, gleaming golden bells, were ordered in Italy and flown into Manila for the occasion. Italy is home to the world’s oldest and best bell-manufacturing technology, dating back a thousand years. Each 15 inches tall and weighing three kilos, the MOPC bell trophies symbolize freedom, excellence, achievement, glory, and perfection of craft.”
I FIRST MET MARIXI IN THE LATE 1980s when she was selling newsprint to the Inquirer which was a giant in circulation but a dwarf in money. To help it manage its cash flow, she lent it P10 million convertible to common stock at her option. When the two blocs that equally owned the Inquirer could not agree on who should control, they compromised by assigning their holdings to Marixi, and the Inquirer magically fell on her lap as the ACCIDENTAL OWNER.
When I retired as CJ in 2006, Marixi invited me to write a column thrice a week, but my lifetime guru, the late Dr. Jovito R. Salonga objected, saying, “I do not know of any CJ who became a columnist. Chief justices do not write history; they make it.” To this, Marixi quipped, “I do not know of any chief justice who had been offered to write a regular column.”
Marixi won the battle of wits and, since then, I have written faithfully once (not thrice as she wanted) a week, without fail, without any vacation, despite my illnesses (like COVID in December 2022), or death in my family (when my wife Leni passed unexpectedly last April 9, I published my eulogy for her as a column that, believe it or not, became the most visited column in the Inquirer.net as of August 2023), or travel abroad (like last Monday when my column was an abbreviated version of my speech in Kuala Lumpur.) Come to think of it, I have been writing for the Inquirer for 17 years, much longer than I did for the Supreme Court during my term of 11 years.
In turn, Marixi published my pieces in book form every five years. The first volume which came out in 2011 was rated third in the Amazon bestseller list for the courts category, bested only by the books of Jeffrey Toobin of CNN and Justice Antonin Scalia of the US Supreme Court. I donated my royalties as author to the Inquirer Newsboy Foundation.
UNKNOWN TO MANY, HENRY IS OUR FOREMOST EXPERT ON AVIATION LAW. He, as counsel of Philippine Airlines some 50 years ago, and I, as counsel of foreign carriers like KLM and Continental, clashed passionately but socialized privately. My respect for him grew over the years. When I was already an incumbent justice, I asked him repeatedly to join the Supreme Court. But he respectfully declined.
Right after I graduated from the Court as CJ on Dec. 6, 2006, he and GMA president Jimmy Duavit visited me at home and invited me to join their network’s board of directors. I therefore became a witness to why he declined membership in the Court, and how he made GMA the largest, most trusted, and best TV-radio network long before ABS-CBN was closed.
And today, GMA is unrivaled according to a Nielsen Report with a rating higher than those of the 10 other major networks combined. Moreover, it earned a net profit of over P7.5 billion in 2021, the highest in the history of any network, while serving the public evermore fairly and trustily with its motto of “Sa totoo lang tayo.”
Again, thank you MOPC. I feel like receiving an honorary Ph.D. from the “MOPC University of Journalism.”
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