Ranya Ecaldre ||

Scholars from Philippine Science High School – Eastern Visayas Campus (PSHS-EVC) emerge victorious in the Ditto Sarmiento Journalism Cup (DSJC) held last September 19 – October 3. Due to the pandemic, the contest was held virtually, accepting online entry submissions from both high school and college students. The event was conducted to showcase the creativity and critical-thinking skills of young Filipino students through journalism. The awarding ceremony conducted last October 23 recognized the talents of Ma. Kristine Erika Flanco, an 11^th grader, for winning 7th place in Editorial Cartooning and Mark Russell Caranzo, a 12^th grader, for winning 10th place in Editorial Writing.

Aside from the competition, the event also included online workshop sessions from award-winning student journalists and talks from renowned personalities in the journalism field, stressing the need for responsibility in upholding fair journalism and the necessity to preserve press freedom. 

This was named after the Editor-in-Chief of the Philippine Collegian during the Marcos dictatorship, Alphan Martyr Abraham “Ditto” Sarmiento who was well-known for his phrase, “Kung ‘di tayo kikibo, sino ang kikibo? Kung ‘di tayo kikilos, sino ang kikilos? Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa?” which played a huge role in student protests during the Martial Law. 

In an interview, Caranzo stated that for the Editorial Writing Competition, they were assigned to write on the topic of balancing economic and public health in regards to the current COVID-19 pandemic. He mentioned that the topic given was highly relevant because in times of a health crisis, proper information dissemination regarding guidelines and restrictions from the government is necessary. Caranzo said,

“It was meaningful and insightful at the same time because we get to meet established personalities who are very passionate in the things they do.”