PEOPLE often ask me how I do it ─ writing for Panay News three times a week, MWF, week after week.
The quick answer is Dedication, and Love for my readers.
I really feel responsible for the people who read me.
And in a nutshell, that’s how I continue to be a living legend in the Ilonggo newspaper industry.
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I like that I am considered an influencer by many.
I like that I bring excitement to the lives of others.
As my personal philosophy in life says:
“Big or small, there is always something we can do to make another person smile. I do it with my poems and well-chosen words.” ─ Peter Solis Nery, Filipino Poet
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Yeah, that’s a direct quote that needs an attribution.
I said it first, and I don’t need to copyright it.
(But I did. It’s copyrighted because it’s part of my book “I Am Peter”.)
Those two sentences are probably the most important words I’d like to be remembered for.
Because they express my life philosophy.
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It is my strongest and most basic belief.
The very force that keeps me going, writing, creating, being funny, and even making fun of myself for others (and before others can!).
I will do the silliest things, if those would comfort the desolate and the inconsolable.
I am a saint, and an angel, that way.
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But I am not just a newspaper columnist.
I am also many other things.
And as a most important writer and producer of Hiligaynon literature (yes, most awarded, too!), I also need time for my serious works.
And so, I have come to a decision to slow down my pace here at Panay News.
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I am not being demoted.
Far from it!
The editors and publishers would gladly take anything I write. (God bless them!)
But after years and years of writing three times a week (six times when I was with the sister publication Panay Balita), I have decided to reduce my column to two times a week.
So yeah, I will still here every Monday and Wednesday starting next week.
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I might end up going back to thrice weekly in the future.
Or maybe even further reduce to once a week.
We will see.
Let’s give this Monday and Wednesday schedule a good run until December 31, Monday.
By then, I would probably make another decision to set my life’s pace at 50.
This boy isn’t getting any younger.
Although I still love like a teenager.
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I love Panay News.
I love its current editor, who defends me like a good editor should.
I was told that, once, a reader threatened to stop patronizing (she can’t afford to pay subscription) Panay News, if I don’t write a public apology for what I have written about her ignorance.
Panay News laughed it off.
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The incident started on Facebook.
I called the complainant on her ignorant comments on my posts.
She started a word war.
Instead of fighting her on Facebook, I wrote about the incident in my column.
I thought it was funny.
What I have written, of course, delighted many Panay News readers.
(Yeah, we still laugh at the misfortunes of others.
And arguing with the Peter Solis Nery can be your biggest misfortune.)
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I did not name names in my column article.
If I did, wouldn’t have I been sued for libel already?
I know my game.
She ended up like the biggest loser.
She went (or maybe, she cowardly just emailed or telephoned the newspaper) and asked that I be fired, or something.
But she does not have that power.
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My editor is said to have told her off, We cannot fire Mr. Peter Solis Nery. He is “the” Peter Solis Nery. There is only one like him, and we are proud to have him. Sorry, if you truly decide not to read Panay News anymore. But Peter Solis Nery brings his own readership. He is really funny, if you can read his humor smartly.
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And so, it is also gratefulness for episodes like these that I decide to remain, and continue writing, in Panay News.
With editors like that, how can I give up?
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I didn’t get a chance to give a eulogy at Danny Fajardo’s funeral.
I love the late Daniel Fajardo, founder and publisher of Panay News, who encouraged me in my craziness.
When, at the very beginning of my engagement (that’s circa 2005), I expressed doubt whether Panay News and I would be a good fit, the greatest thing DF said to me was this:
“See that eagle in the Panay News masthead? I want you to soar, like that eagle, above everything. Write whatever you want. I will defend you in all legal suits arising from your writing. Do not worry about censorship. I guarantee that everything you write for Panay News will be printed for as long as I live.”
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Well, DF is now dead.
But I probably would enjoy the same blanket authority over what I write and publish in Panay News.
It’s hard to go against the word of the dead, especially if he is the founder of the newspaper.
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That phrase “…for as long as I live”?
I have an argument for that.
Danny Fajardo lives in the hearts of people. He is Panay News. (500tinaga@gmail.com/PN)
