2013 U.P. Gawad Plaridel calls for nominations

MANILA, Philippines - The U.P. College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) is now accepting nominations for the U.P. Gawad Plaridel which recognizes Filipino media practitioners who have excelled in any of the media (print, radio, film, television and new media) and have performed with the highest level of professional integrity in the interest of public service.

For 2013, the ninth U.P. Gawad Plaridel will be given to an outstanding print/online/community journalist. Deadline for nomination is March 30. The recipient of the U.P. Gawad Plaridel 2013 will be announced in May.

Eligible for the awards are all living Filipino individuals who have excelled in the print media as a reporter, editor, columnist, editorial writer or publisher. Aside from their probity and integrity, these media practitioners must have produced a body of work that is marked by excellence and social relevance and must have achievements recognized nationally and/or internationally.

Individuals and institutions may nominate potential awardees. Institutions include media corporations, professional media associations, media advocacy groups, educational institutions, cultural foundations and non-government organizations (NGOs). Previous nominees may still be considered for this year’s award. All current full-time faculty and staff of the UP CMC are disqualified from the nomination.

The award is named after Marcelo H. del Pilar (nom de plume, Plaridel), the selfless propagandist whose stewardship of the reformist newspaper La Solidaridad helped crystallize nationalist sentiments and ignite libertarian ideas in the 1890s. Like Plaridel, the awardee must believe in the vision of a Philippine society that is egalitarian, participative and progressive; and in media that are socially responsible, critical and vigilant, liberative and transformative, and free and independent.

The U.P. Gawad Plaridel is given every July in commemoration of del Pilar’s death anniversary. The awardee will receive the U.P. Gawad Plaridel trophy, designed by National Artist Napoleon Abueva, and will deliver the Plaridel Lecture addressing issues relevant to the state and practice of Philippine media.

Nomination forms and award guidelines are available at the U.P. CMC Office of Extension and External Relations (OEER). For details, interested parties may call the OEER at 920-6864.