BY MATÉ ESPINA
TODAY, the Visayan Daily Star, the longest running community paper in Negros Island for over 38 years is closing shop.
Management says it will be a temporary closure as it was no longer sustainable to continue with its operations. In his column, general manager, Carlo Leonardia, said they will “cease operations as we try to find a solution to the existential threats that we stubbornly thought we could outlast.”
The pandemic brought the paper to its knees when cities went on lockdown and advertisers and subscribers disappeared. To continue existing, the paper transferred to digital platform which does not generate revenue. However, even before the pandemic, management admitted that staying afloat was already challenging as more people rely on social media to get their daily dose of news.
“As we bid adieu temporarily, I pray our readers to support their community newspaper when we do come back. Hopefully our past and present subscribers agree with the new format and everyone who has enjoyed our content free of charge over the past 15 years do not begrudge us when we put a price tag on our product so we can continue providing our special brand of service,” Carlo wrote.
The closure was understandable but in the case of Daily Star, employees say there is more than meets the eye. Although management said they will make a comeback and it will be in digital format, none of the editorial staff are planning to rejoin the team and may in fact be filing a legal case against the company.
It is a sad ending to an institution that has been there while we were growing up. My father was among the first writers of that paper and I took over his space when he passed away almost three years ago. It has been a good journey but like any other, we are simply passing through and one day it will end, as it has for Daily Star.
Some of their writers are correspondents of national papers and some joined newly-produced local platforms, thus it’s not the end of the road for them. If indeed Daily Star makes a comeback, whether it will continue to enjoy the readership it had without their existing editorial team remains to be seen.
In other news, Amlig Tubig, a consortium of consumers groups, went to court yesterday to file a declaration of nullity and temporary restraining order against the takeover of Prime Water, owned by the Villars, over the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa).
Bacolod Councilor Wilson Gamboa, Jr. said they will ask the court to grant their petition which is “disadvantageous” to the people and the takeover did not follow the process of conducting a public hearing or consultation with affected communities.
Gamboa said they are also submitting a petition signed by 24,000 consumers including village officials who are against the takeover of Prime Water scheduled this November 1. Cases could have been filed earlier, however the courts were closed due to community quarantine protocols.
According to sources, Prime Water offered a very attractive exit package for Baciwa employees, and some have already accepted the offer to retire or transfer. However, majority refused the offer because it seems too good to be true. Among those who refused the offer is Baciwa General Manager, Atty. Julie Ann Carbon and members of the Baciwa union.
Meanwhile, though sea travel between Bacolod and Iloilo has been agreed upon by both Mayors Bing Leonardia and Jerry Treñas, fastcraft operators are not sailing because other local government units are not on board with the idea of doing away with strict travel requirements.
Frank Carbon, the head of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry and also the operator of Weesom fastcrafts said that there was no concerted agreement from chief executives.
According to Frank, even if Bacolod and Iloilo cities open up, the economic viability of resuming inter-island travel is not possible if they (LGUs) could not come up with a common travel protocol for the entire Region 6.
The two major cities are ready for commercial travel but the province of Negros Occidental says they will require swabbing of travellers bound for LGUs outside of Bacolod. Iloilo Gov. Art Defensor, according to Carbon continues to insist on submission of travel documents and there were no representations from the provinces of Aklan, Antique, and Capiz during that conference.
“We cannot resume travel if everyone is not on board,” Carbon said, adding that because of their failure to reach an agreement, the regional IATF said they will be the one to draft one protocol covering the entire region.
Carbon said that if interisland trading and travel will be permitted, it will also be easier for everyone to adapt to the new normal and slowly open up their businesses, especially the tourism industry which is badly hit by this pandemic. In Negros, while Sipalay City which boasts of nice beach resorts and diving spots is still not opening up, the more popular nearby recreation facilities like Campuestohan and The Ruins may soon reopen./PN
