Jose G. Burgos

Recently recognized as one of the 50 world press freedom heroes by the prestigious International Press Institute, a global network of journalists and media executives, Jose G. Burgos, Jr. made his mark as a fighting journalist and advocate of press freedom. José G. Burgos Jr. was a key figure in the powerful group of independent media practitioners that exposed the crimes of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos that eventually toppled the former dictator's regime.

Last May 10, 2000, the Philippine Senate unanimously adopted a Resolution (No. 52) ''honoring Jose G. Burgos, Jr. for his heroic deeds and steadfast struggle as a journalist.''

Sources: Press Club Golden Jubilarians (Thesis prepared by students of Miriam College) CV of Jose G. Burgos, Farmer-Journalist 50 Press Freedom Heroes by Michael Kudlak (IPI Report on-line Second Quarter 2000. Vol. 6 No. 2)

Born on Jan. 4, 1941, Burgos started his journalism career as a police reporter with the Manila Times, Daily Mirror and Taliba. In 1961, he became a reporter for the Philippine Herald-DZHP. In 1971, he became section editor of the Tri-Media Network-Evening News.

Mr. Burgos also joined the academe and served as senior lecturer for Journalism at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Jose Burgos attended both high school and college at the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

He was granted a scholarship by the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment Offenders in Tokyo, Japan.

He was awarded a Jefferson fellowship at the East-West Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu in 1973 wherein he took up ecology subjects. And so his interest in ecology began.

As an active farmer since 1988, Burgos is engaged in organic farming in a 12-hectare farm in San Miguel, Bulacan. His integrated farm consists of rice crop, vegetables, forest trees, mango orchard, livestock, fishponds and ornamentals.

His being a journalist and a farmer adds to his credibility as an agricultural writer and broadcaster for he practices what he writes.

As a developmental journalist, Burgos anchored a weekly radio program over DZMM-ABS (4:00-6:00 a.m., 'Sa Kabukiran') which has been adjudged as ''The Most Outstanding Agricultural Radio Program'' in 1996.

Earlier, in 1994, he was likewise awarded the ''Agricultural Journalist of the Year'' (for his Filipino column in the Daily Inquirer) by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. Both awards are known as BINHI Awards.

In 1998, he was a recipient of the prestigious Outstanding Media Award in Science and Technology sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology.

He was writing an agricultural column in Today newspaper when he was appointed by President Estrada in 1998 as President/Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the government-sequestered Journal Group of publications (Journal, People's Journal, People's Tonight, Taliba and Women's Journal). He has since resigned and is now engaged in consultancy work.

With his experience as a farmer and his involvement in agricultural and ecological concerns, Burgos has been advocating farmland protection and conservation in his lectures and talks all over the country. In a way, he has become a partner of research and agricultural development experts and professionals with his writings and radio talks which range from practical farming methods to the adoption of relevant, affordable and environment-friendly technologies.

He is the author of a book in Filipino (titled ''Mula sa Bukid'') about agriculture and his experience as a farmer. He also edited an agriculture dictionary (English-Filipino).

Burgos is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources, Research and Development-Department of Science and Technology; member of the National Crop Protection Center Advisory Board; secretary, Conservation Farming of the Philippines, and member of the Council of Advisers of the Congressional Commission on Agricultural Modernization (Agricom).

Concurrently, Burgos is deep into rice advocacy and recently helped organize the Rice Media Advocacy Network-Philippines, Inc. (RMAN), an initiative of senior journalists in the print and broadcast media in support of rice research, development and promotion. He is a member of RMAN's Board of Trustees and incumbent volunteer executive director. He is also chairman of the executive committee of the regional Asian Rice Media Advocacy network, an organization of more than 30 media practitioners in 8 Asian countries.

His Works

Burgos founded, published and edited the English-language weekly We Forum which, for many years remained the lone effective opposition paper during the height of martial law although newspaper sellers never publicly displayed it.

He also launched and published Midday, the vernacular Malaya (Free) and Masa (Masses) from a small office in Suburban Manila in May 1977.

On December 7, 1982, We Forum was shut down by the military. Burgos and nine of his staff were arrested. He was detained at Fort Bonifacio and was accused of being a subversive and being an officer of illegal organizations.

He was released after an international outcry, but the charges against him dragged on for almost two years.

With the publication of We Forum discontinued, Burgos began to publish an English edition of Malaya. The new paper soon attracted even more readers and Burgos quickly turned it into a daily.

Malaya published the full story of opposition leader Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino's murder in August 1983. At the time, Malaya and the increasing number of small but independent papers were constantly harassed and threatened. Malaya was one of the independent media outlets to join in the rally for the People Power opposition movement of Corazon C. Aquino.

Burgos resumed publishing and editing We Forum as a weekly magazine. He won the 1986 International Journalism Award of the Inter Press Service for his contribution to the defense of press freedom during the blackest years of the Marcos regime.