LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (PIA) – Campus journalists from ten public and private higher education institutions in the Cordillera region are reminded to uphold responsible journalism, and their crucial role in standing up against fake news and false narratives, and not only to inform but also to inspire and empower others.
“In this era of rapid advancements, you are not just storytellers. You are game changers. The voices that can come through the noise of misinformation-uphold your integrity and ensure that truth prevails in the digital landscape,” Ma. Geraldine Casipit, Chief Education Program Specialist of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) – CAR told these student journalists who gathered at the Benguet State University (BSU) Main Campus in La Trinidad for the 23rd Cordillera Regional Higher Education Press Conference (RHEPC) from February 12 – 14, 2025.
Casipit emphasized that journalism itself is never a game but “a responsibility, a duty to seek and uphold the truth and a commitment to serve the public with integrity.”
The RHEPC with the theme, “PRESS PLAY: Campus Journalists as Game Changers in the Digital Revolution,” aimed to enhance the journalism skills and develop camaraderie among campus journalists, and heighten the practice of responsible campus journalism.
The three-day event consisted of lectures on Editorial Writing and Opinion/Column Writing; Poetry Writing and Literary Graphics Illustration;, Photojournalism; Feature, Editorial Cartooning and Comic Strip Drawing; Copyreading, Headline Writing and News Writing; Layouting and Development Communication Writing; Sports Writing; Digital Art: Editorial Cartooning, Comic Strip Drawing, Literary Graphics Illustration, and Infographics, and Radio Broadcasting by seasoned journalists in the region, and individual and group competitions in journalistic writing, broadcasting, collaborative desktop publishing, and traditional and digital illustration.
Karen Laking, president of the Tertiary School Publication Advisers’ Association which organized the event, extended her congratulations to the participants of this year’s presscon for the great learning experience.
“Lahat ng Team CAR may collaborative clinicking. In that way, you learn from each other- we learn from the alumni of our publications. With that, we are more confident and armed with skills that we can bring to Lucban, Quezon,” Laking stated.
The Luzon-wide Higher Education Press Conference will be held in Lucban, Quezon in April 2025 where CAR will be represented by the top five winners in the individual and group category competitions of this RHEPC.
BSU’s The Mountain Collegian won the overall champion title, and Saint Louis University’s White & Blue was first runner-up. The Organon of Kalinga State University – Rizal Campus, The Alternative of the University of the Cordilleras, and Mountain Province State University’s Tala: The Mocking Bird emerged as second, third and fourth runners-up, respectively.
The other participating universities and their student publications are Baguio Central University (The Flame); Divine Word College of Bangued (Sparks Publication); Ifugao State University (Upland Farm); St. Louis College of Bulanao (Louisian Today ); St. Tonis College Inc., (Tonisian Reflectors) and Kalinga State University (Earthline). Host school BSU had another participating publication, The Mountain Collegian.
“More than the award, I know the RHEPC is also a reflection of our hardwork as campus journalists and as defenders of the truth,” Liezhel Joy Ramos of the Mountain Collegian expressed. (JDP/DEG/Arnmari Dela Cruz & Klaud Kaniteng -PIA-SLU Interns)
