(The following is a speech delivered by Dr. Alvaro on behalf of the Diamond Awardees during the Pampanga Press Club 75th Anniversary Gala Night held at Royce Hotel and Casino on Nov. 23, 2024.)
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, 4th President of Estonia, once said: “Fake news is cheap to produce. Genuine journalism is expensive.”
Pampanga Press Club, imagine your worth now! You are now very expensive as you have been producing genuine news for 75 years.
To become an organization no matter what size you may be, may not be that difficult to do, but to maintain credibility is another thing… and to maintain it for 75 years is rare and more than outstanding…
Aside from being expensive, PPC, you have maintained this credibility for almost 8 decades sa papamagitan ng inyong pagpapatuloy sa mahalagang papel ninyo sa lipunan.
At dahil dito, itong mga pagkilalang ipinagkaloob ninyo ngayon sa amin ay hindi matatawaran ang halaga. For an organization known for delivering genuine news and maintaining its credibility for 75 years… being proud to receive tonight’s accolade is an understatement!
Therefore, on behalf of the awardees tonight, we are deeply honored for this very prestigious, valuable and credible award.
Rest assured we shall be living up with the meaning of this award and we shall always be a PPC awardee carrying with us the legacy of genuineness, worthiness and credibility bilang isang awardee ng PPC… at totoo po ito at hindi po ito fake news!
Dakal pung Salamat!
