EDITORIAL - 92 and many many more to go

Aside from food, which we certainly will have, there will be a lot of other things on our plate as The FREEMAN celebrates being 92 years old today. But two things immediately stand out which everyone involved in this paper will have to deal with, both personally and collectively.

These two things can be simplified as the “looking back” and “looking forward” postures that everyone will have to take, postures that may differ with each individual but which, taken collectively, will reflect the general sentiment of this organization of nearly 200 people.

The “looking back” is easier. For while the 92 years that passed since its founding by Paulino Gullas, its revival by Jose Gullas, and its revitalization by Miguel Belmonte have been challenged by great trials, they have been surmounted by even greater victories as well.

Because Filipinos are a people culturally steeped in numerological significances, we here in The FREEMAN came to sort of naturally believe 92 is not a banner year, that it is somewhat of lesser significance than, say a 50th anniversary, or the 90th that we celebrated two years ago.

But newspapers, when they get to be as old as we are, begin to show why they are not like people. People slow down as they age. Newspapers, on the other hand, begin to flex more strength. The older they are, the stronger their foundations set, the stronger they become.

People have come and gone through our doors in the course of our 92 years. But the core values of the paper remain — that having been Cebu’s newspaper since 1919, we will continue to be so, but without losing sight of the great adjustments we have to make as we face the future.

And that brings as to the “looking forward” part. Our 92 years are already in the pocket. But we intend to stay around for perhaps even longer than that. To do that, great adjustments and adaptations have to be made to keep in step with the sweeping changes happening around us.

So, to our readers, advertisers, friends, fellow Cebuanos, and those in the rest of the Visayas where we have been circulating the past several years, we offer our gratitude for the support, and our commitment that your expectations of a good and reliable newspaper will be met.

It may seem easy expressing that commitment but it is not. Because to us, coming up with a good and reliable newspaper does not mean simply delivering news factually and fast. We would not have reached 92 if that was not an accepted fact. Our commitment has, so to speak, a rider.

And that rider, in addition to delivering what a newspaper is supposed to deliver, is to make sure we stay the institution that we have become. Our name does not just conjure the image of a newspaper. Our name signifies honor, respectability and trust.

In other words, our name embodies values that Cebuanos truly cherish — in the way they bring up their families, believe in their God, relate with their friends, do business with their clientele, and live peacefully and meaningfully in their growing communities.

So, again, at 92, it is very easy to say we are happy and content with how far we have come. But there is our first century to look forward to, just a short eight years away, and way beyond that even. And the saying becomes harder, except that we know we can do it. And we will.