Philippine Daily Inquirer, Mindanao Observer Top Winners in Sustainable Construction Reporting Awards

The Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Mindanao Observer emerged as the biggest winners in this year’s Journalism Awards for Sustainable Construction Reporting (JASCOR), an annual recognition jointly given by the Philippine Press Institute (PPI), the country’s biggest association of newspapers, and global construction solutions company LafargeHolcim Philippines.

Inquirer’s “Climate Change Revives ‘Natural Building’ of Houses” bested two other finalists in the national newspaper category. The reporter, Yolanda Sotelo, received a cash prize of P50,000 for her winning story, which was published on February 3, 2016.

The Mindanao Observer’s “A Brave New School without Walls,” published on July 24 this year, took the top plum in the community newspaper category, where four other finalists competed. Its main writer was Lina Sagaral Reyes, with contributions from Rey Garcia, Mel Madera, Nova Thirdy Agravante, Mary Rose Silvidad, Dahlia Benemerito.

Each of the two top winners took home a cash prize of P50,000 and a plaque. The other finalists in both categories each received a consolation prize of Php10,000.

The awarding was held at Dusit Hotel in Makati City.

The Inquirer received the Merit Award for Sustainable Construction Reporting and a cash prize of P75,000 for having the most number of finalists this year, sweeping the national newspaper category.

JASCOR aims to recognize excellent stories from the print media exploring issues surrounding sustainable construction.

According to LafargeHolcim, one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates, sustainable construction is “building in a way that is socially, economically, environmentally, functionally, and aesthetically balanced to meet today’s needs and to conserve resources for future generations.”

Now on its third cycle, JASCOR is the first and only one of its kind in the Philippines. For this year’s awards, JASCOR’s boards of screeners and judges evaluated stories published from Aug. 1, 2015 to July 31, 2016.

Following is a list of the JASCOR finalists in national and community newspaper categories:

National Newspaper Category

Winner

“Climate Change Revives ‘Natural Building’ of Houses”
Yolanda Sotelo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
February 3, 2016

Finalists

“Baguio-La Trinidad Traffic Solvers Hope for E-Trains”
Vincent Cabreza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
September 22, 2015

“New Growth Areas for Renewable Energy”
Riza Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 30, 2016

Community Newspaper Category

Winner

“A Brave New School without Walls”
Lina Sagaral Reyes, with reports from Rey Garcia, Mel Madera, Nova Thirdy Agravante, Mary Rose Silvidad, Dahlia Benemerito
Mindanao Observer
July 24, 2016

Finalists

“Disaster-Proofing Bantayan”
Flornisa Gitgano
Sun.Star Cebu
July 27, 2016

“Basilica Minore del Santo Niño: Restoring a Historical Landmark”
May Miasco
The Freeman
July 31, 2016

“St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Clarin, Bohol: Rising from the Rubble”
Michael Vencynth Braga
The Freeman
July 31, 2016

“The Zero Carbon Resort Demonstration Cottage: Retrofitting the ‘Bahay Kubo’ for Climate Change”
Frank Cimatu
Baguio Chronicle
May 28-June 3, 2016

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