Chronicle associate editor elected to PAPI

The Publishers Association of the Philippines Inc. (PAPI) a national organization of community newspaper publishers have elected their new set of officers who shall assume the next three-year term as mandated by their corporate by-laws.

Juan Dayang, was re-elected Chairman-President of PAPI. His election was un contested.

Dayang has been at the helm of PAPI for the last ten years.
He has, on many ocassions singlehandedly steered the national organization, holding seminars for provinail newsmen, conventions, and discussions to promote the interests of community jounalism in the country.

Meanwhile, the associate editor of the Negros Chornicle, lawyer Elmar Jay Martin I. Dejaresco was elected the youngest director of PAPI representing the Visayas.

The new officers of PAPI who will be serving until 2009 are: Juan Dayang, President-Chair; Lelia Chua-Sy, Executive Vice President; Deo Alvarez, vice presidenti for Luzon; Danny Fajardo of Panay News, vice president for Visayas and Aznar, vice president for Mindanao.

Secretary is Fred Gabot, Assistant Secretary, D.Y. Caparas. Ester Gallardo was elected treasurer while Phil Caracas was elected Auditor.

The directors are Mar Romero, Johnny Nunez, Edwin Pelayo, Elmar Jay Dejaresco, Vic Arevalo and Maureen Jones.

The election of national officers of PAPI also coincided with the national convention of the group, which was attended by publishers from Luzon to as far as Sulu in Mindanao.

Guest speaker during the national convention was lawyer journalist Napoleon Rama, publisher of the Manila Bulletin.

One of the advocacies of PAPI, which is being initated by Nap Rama, who started his journalism career as a columnist in Cebu, is to eliminate the legal requirement that newspaper publishers be mandatorily impleaded in libel suits agasint news reporters and editors.

Juan Dayan announced that the next activity of PAPI is to hold an educational tour on August of the province of North Cotabato, upon the invitation of Govrnoer Emmanuel Pinol,himself a former journalist and an active sports commentator.