BRAVING FATE
URBAN JUNGLE: FEBRUARY 12, 2025
It's travel time!
For the first time in over three years, we will be away from each other for longer than two weeks. Tears welled up as we said our goodbyes to our friends who wouldn’t be joining us at our internship workplace
It's funny how we cried and temporarily halted the bus, with all the other passengers seemingly watching the spectacle of our over-the-top emotions Jeric Azores didn’t make it before our bus departed. I so wish his hair wouldn’t grow thicker as he interns at their station
Kidding aside, may the odds be in favor of these daredevils as we navigate what awaits us in the crazier urban jungle
videohere:
February 13:
This is real.
Tired from the almost 16hour travel, which my company claimed was justifiable, the first thing we did in the Metro was eat unlimited samgyeopsal! Haha. Sudden realizations surged as we reflected on our journey for the past four years, leading down to our last semester.
In unison, we said, "Oh, our God, we are here. This is real.”
Bonus entry:
Though I can’t accept inperson invitations for speaking engagements in Bicol due to my internship, online judging and other events are still accepted as long as my schedule permits. This time, I was able to join the Bicol University-College of Social Sciences and Philosophy’s event as the only judge who opted for an online medium. I was also able to share my expertise in covering disinformation and propaganda during elections at the online “Kapehan Session” with Naguenyo. In the said event, I highlighted the concerns related to press freedom and political dynasties.
READ MY RELATED ARTICLES HERE:
February 14:
Healthy heart.
Early on Valentine’s Day, we visited St. Luke’s Medical Center for checkups. Yeah, my heart still beats not for someone, but with the bills for our meals at Bonifacio Global City and because of the caffeine from the coffee I ordered at Starbucks. Haha.
We had our Valentine’s Day feast at a Mediterranean restaurant in High Street Park. The food was wonderful and deliciously balanced. After finishing our ordered Jamba Juice while catching up with Tita Ana, Rosmae’s mom, we went home to Parañaque and continued our preparations for moving to Quezon City.
My first Development Communication (DevComm) article about Mayon Gold, a Bicol-made chocolate and factory in Sua, Camalig, Albay, was published on Rappler. The brand helps hundreds of local farmers, hires single mothers, and sends children to school with every chocolate they sell.
READ MY ARTICLE HERE:
Another Bicol food feature I wrote was published on Rappler This time, it’s about how rice puto makapuno has sustained locals for generations. The article delved deeper into how a research innovation became Albay’s culinary treasure
February 15:
Hello, QC!
In the morning, we drove from Parañaque to Quezon City it was a very long period of sitting and talking. After almost three hours, primarily due to traffic jams, we finally arrived at the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus. We were able to lease a unit inside the campus and settle there for the duration of the internship.
To warm our new home, we spent our afternoon at Trinoma, buying new beds, pillows, and other essentials. It was a very exhausting and expensive first day in QC.
WATCH | Hello, QC!
February 16: Wonder week-ender.
To cap our transition week, we bought more essentials at Robinson’s Supermarket in DiliMall. That’s only approximately a fiveminute walk from where we live. We also jogged from afternoon to evening, wondering where this new balloon would take us in three months.
Under the scenic twinkling lights in UP’s Sunken Garden, we wandered in thoughts and steps. At last, our first week away from our friends ended Truly, it was a wonder weekender.
WATCH | Wonder week-ender:
February 17: Fine day, Monday.
Unlike most of our peers, our Monday was mundane. We received a late notice from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) that we didn’t have any meetings that day.
Lost, we couldn’t help but just stare at their updates while we were caught in a state of limbo. Nonetheless, it was a fine Monday as we utilized our day preparing to bring added value to PCIJ when we finally report to the office.
Typically starting my day with some Taylor Swift tracks, we got up and had our morning routine as we prepared to go to work. It was our first official day at the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism!
Dazed, we went there at 7:00 a.m., not knowing that the office opens at 10! Being over-the-top, I messaged our student internship coordinator. Funnily, before she could reply, the office caretaker had opened the gate for us.
Listen to Taylor Swift’s Snow on the Beach song here:
When broadcasting alumnus and now PCIJ training coordinator Aaron Baluis arrived at the PCIJ office, we had a quick meeting consisting mostly of introductions and casual catching up. We capped the day with an office familiarization session, and we were given the opportunity to choose our desks.
As my first playlist song described it, our first day at the PCIJ office felt weird but beautiful. Maybe because I was used to the Rappler office, which is larger and has more people, and where the operations are very fast. At PCIJ, we have more time to delve into investigations and data processing something that is very dear to me.
Our PCIJ journey might be slower compared to others who chose another mainstream media company, but I know that this is the best place for me to be right now.
WATCH | FIRST DAY AT PCIJ
February 19-20: Queue.
For two days, all we did was wait. We were in a queue. The thing with mundane days is their ability to test your discipline, whether it be on spending or waiting. Of course, we failed. While we waited, we felt we deserved to eat, eat, eat.
WATCH | While our peers flaunt how they have already finished their 50-hour internship duties, here we are, done with our 50 meals and expenses. Haha.
Bonus entry:
My fellowship reflection was also published as an opinion piece on Rappler. It recounts the story of why I chose to be a journalist and focus on community reporting. It talks about how I honor my grandmother’s story as a campus journalist.
READMYARTICLEHERE:
“I so wish she had been able to read my work. I tried to honor her through the stories of the people I wrote about. Each of them was a letter of affection to her.”
Love, Little Renardo.
My grandmother Lola May or May Nemia, as many fondly remember her in our lovely island home Rapu-Rapu, was a firm and resolute woman. Whip-smart, my Lola May could have been one of the brightest journalists if she had set her mind to it — or if only she had the chance to pursue higher education.
Sadly, the year she died was the same year I was first introduced to campus journalism
Writing became my way of coping with grief. I so wish she had been able to read my work or I could have written a feature about her when she was still alive, something she would have enjoyed reading with her black coffee and cigarette
As a fellow, I encountered countless stories like hers different forms, different narratives, but the same underlying struggles Through Rappler and its Aries Rufo fellowship program, I realized that writing wasn’t just a way to process my grief but a way to honor Lola May’s memory and fight for justice for others whose dreams and futures are being stolen by a corrupt system.
February 21: Training starts!
Fridays are for special meetings at PCIJ. This time, Ma’am Weng Paraan, our training head, joined us for our official internship orientation. It was a powerful conversation full of Bicolanos. She shared that she was also from Albay, thus making the four of us certified "oragons."
The discussion centered on how PCIJ operates, what the responsibilities of interns are, and how exciting the rest of the journey would be. Ma’am Weng’s vibes are super comforting. She’s strict with the quality of work, but she never forgets to crack a few jokes.
READ MY POST HERE: February 22: Quite rustle.
Saturdays are typically quite bustling for starters at PCIJ, but because there were no impending tasks, I accepted an invitation to a program at the Philippine Collegian Office. It was nice teaching campus journalists and media advocates from many parts of the country.
The workshop was centered around advanced fact-checking and election coverage for campus journalists; many of the attendees were from various publications from the University of the Philippines System, Ateneo de Manila University, and Polytechnic University of the Philippines, among others. I ended up with more invitations as they geared up for more journalistic skills training—I thought I would have more time for my love life, but yeah, to love and serve the country as a journalist is definitely a love I have in abundance at the moment.
February 23: Harry Potter.
Sunday's tranquility was a welcome pause before the inevitable mayhem of the week. I surrendered to the luxury of a slow morning, revisiting the familiar magic of Harry Potter. My day included errands at Parqal Mall, where I managed to squeeze in some writing, and a trip to Fully Booked at UP Town Center.
There, a chance encounter with a Harry Potter keychain led to an impulse purchase, now proudly attached to my work bag a playful nudge to work harder and fuel my HP obsession.
Without denial, this journalist is still a kiddo
February 24: First task.
Mondays are the only time the PCIJ office buzzes most days, a deafening silence pervades the entire property. It was also when we had our first in-person meeting with the training team We were asked to compile materials about the West Philippine Sea. Ma’am Weng told us that a simple Google Drive folder would suffice, but of course, we were buried in a lot of readings.
We outlined the plans and schedules right after the meeting and performed basic desk research for the rest of the afternoon.
WATCH | FIRST TASK
February 25: We remember.
It’s my first time commemorating People Power at EDSA. I often join rallies in Bicol at Peñaranda Park and have been busy organizing events since my second year of college.
Though miles away, I still joined the region in remembering the historic mobilization not only on EDSA or Peñaranda but on countless other streets reclaimed from the dictatorship in 1986.
Reinnard Balonzo
#EDSA39 | Bicol made a powerful statement as hundreds gathered in regional mass movements to commemorate the Philippines' liberation from Martial Law and the Marcos dictatorship. Regional protests were held in Naga City, attended by students and peasants from Sorsogon, Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, and Masbate, while another protest took place in Virac, Catanduanes, attended by locals, students, and publication members across Bicol
Youth groups took center stage, launching Kahobenan Kita An Paglaom, a watchdog alliance that will continue to mobilize Bicolanos in their pursuit of truth, justice, and democracy, especially in the coming election. These initiatives ensure that the battle cries for freedom and human rights will live on, even as Peñaranda park remains under construction
Peñaranda park in Albay is where Bicolanos marched 39 years ago to rally against the dictatorship, coinciding with the EDSA mobilizations in Metro Manila . They emphasized that people power movements have never been limited to EDSA alone.
Meanwhile, in Naga City, protesters confronted an alleged intel documenting the mobilization The individual refused to identify himself and failed to provide justification for taking pictures of the protesters. Notably, in 2024, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines listed Bicol as one of the most redtagged and state-surveilled regions in the Philippines in their latest campus press freedom violations report.
��: The SPARK publication photojournalist Kristine Faith Ortega and the latter two photos were retrieved from Catanduanes State University Facebook-page.
February 25-28: Data nerds.
While physical meetings are off the calendar, we have been exhausting every hour by reading materials that can enrich the West Philippine Sea learning resource digital library of the PCIJ. This is how we spent an entire week researching; besides, PCIJ focuses more on data, so dealing with a lot of materials is a usual setup for most of its staff, including its interns.
February 28: Editorial Task.
In the afternoon of Friday, we had a quick meeting with the executive director of PCIJ, Ma’am Carmela Fonbuena. She assigned us to do Bicol stories, particularly about political dynasties. With only less than two days to come up with leads and a pitch, it sparked the start of a very long night of burning candles.
Scan the QR code to listen to the tracks we collated for you to enjoy while you read our magazine issue.
