NEWS | PUP Campus Press Dominates 11th UNCJA Awards

Four campus journalists from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) bagged three major awards at the 11th UST National Campus Journalism Awards (UNCJA), held on January 14.

They were among the seven campus journalists who emerged victorious at this year’s edition after besting nearly 200 entries submitted by 46 student publications from across the Philippines.

Ariane Claire Galpao, Opinion Editor of The Communicator, PUP College of Communication’s student publication, won Best Editorial for her entry, “Ballots, Handcuffs, and the Nation's Youngest Convicts.” The article examined the controversial Senate Bill No. 2026, which seeks to lower the age of criminal responsibility.

Paul Bryan Bio and John David Parol of the PUP Campus Journalists, an autonomous student publication of the university, won Best Feature for their entry, "Cash In, Crash Out." The piece presented a frightening look at the hidden costs of online gambling as a working student to support education.

Earies John Porcioncula, The Communicator’s Managing Editor, received a Special Jury Citation for his entry, “Tanggalin ang Pasanin o ang Kamalayan?” which delivered a sharp critique on plans to remove general education courses like Art Appreciation, Ethics, and The Contemporary World from the college curriculum.

Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman won the Best In-Depth Report, and Ateneo de Manila University earned the Special Jury Citation for Feature.Winners in each category received a ₱15,000 cash prize, a plaque, and a certificate, while recipients of the Special Jury Citation were awarded ₱5,000 and a certificate.

The entries were evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges composed of seasoned journalists and media educators, including Philstar.com chief editor Camille Diola, OneNews.PH assistant editor and UP journalism faculty member Janvic Mateo, veteran political journalist and host of “Facts First” Christian Esguerra, religion reporter and UST journalism faculty member Paterno Esmaquel II, and Varsitarian assistant publications adviser and PressOne.PH fact-check lead Felipe Salvosa II.

Themed “The Campus Press and the Fight for Public Accountability,” the UNCJA in its 11th year, continues to honor outstanding journalistic work from college-level publications, recognizing excellence in three categories: In-Depth Report, Feature, and Editorial.

Organized by The Varsitarian, the official student publication of UST, the awards were held during the fellowship night of the 27th Inkblots at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Manila’s St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P. Auditorium.

READ THEIR PIECES HERE: 

𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗡 | 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀, 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗰𝘂𝗳𝗳𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘀

"𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗜𝗻, 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗢𝘂𝘁" 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗕𝗿𝘆𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗶𝗼

𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗬𝗢𝗡 | 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻 𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗻?

Article: Charish Kate Pey

Graphics: Jaydel Calma