ALMOST 40 years ago, it was a political season when this paper printed its maiden issue on April 7, 1981. The then fledgling Panay News was one with the Filipinos monitoring the developing events as President Ferdinand Marcos supposedly lifted Martial Law.
That we are celebrating our 38th anniversary this political season is thus doubly significant because what lie beyond this milestone are real challenges that we in the press face – the proliferation of fake news, the dominance of social media as platform for information, media killings, issues on credibility, and threats to press freedom, among others.
Nearly four decades of political changes have not deterred us from delivering news and opinions that matter to our readers. Trust us. You have a courageous newspaper and a free press.
As our founders say, we have been sowing the seeds of truth since Day 1. We are reminded of the Parable of the Sower – some seed falls on the wayside with no soil, some on rocky ground with little soil, and some on soil which contained thorns. In these cases, the seed is taken away or fails to produce a crop, but when it falls on good soil it grows, yielding even a hundredfold.
We sincerely work hard that the truths we sow would bear much fruit for our community’s benefit. But we cannot be deterred by our fair share of critics, mostly those whose feathers we have ruffled. Thanks to them, we are all the more inspired to do even better. Because truly, for lies to triumph, it is enough for truth-tellers to shut up. And we cannot countenance that.
It was crystal clear to our founders – and still is to us now, more than ever – that operating a media company means planting “seeds of truth” that will be sown over and over again. “We need to make the people in Western Visayas aware and get them involved, and that is through reporting what is true,” says one of our two founding pillars, Mrs. Mary Santillan Fajardo, echoing the vision of her better-half, our dear Sir Danny Gumban Fajardo.
Thus we remain true to our mission – to inform, to educate, to stir the public conscience.
With a mixture of humility and pride, with a sense of accomplishment and a purposeful vision of the future, we thank you, our millions of readers, advertisers and newspaper dealers for keeping us company all these years. Thank you for trusting us and for allowing us to take on your causes. Today, we renew once more our commitment to serve you with the truth – and do it even better.
Today, the public is still best served by newspapers digging for the truth.
