MANILA – The Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) on Saturday launched Inquirer’s 30th anniversary commemorative book to celebrate its 30 years of courage beyond words entitled the “The Inquirer Story: 30 Years of Shaping History”.
Government officials including Senator Grace Poe, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senator Franklin Drilon, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, and business tycoons namely San Miguel Corp. President Ramon Ang, MVP Group of Companies owner Manny V. Pangilinan, SM Investments Vice President Teresita Sy-Coson and Robina Gokongwei-Pe, President and Chief Operating Officer if Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. braved the metro traffic to grace the event at Mariott Hotel in Pasay City. Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, the President and CEO of Inquirer, had to take a tricycle wearing her red Filipiniana terno just so she could get to the venue on time.
The commemorative book, according to Inquirer, is its “thickest, most personal book yet.” It’s 312 pages of 30 years of front pages, editorials and stories dated December 9, Inquirer’s founding day, down to its maiden issue. It also includes historical markers of the generations that the organization has covered through the years such as the death of Ferdinand Marcos in 1989, the massive earthquake in July 1990, the Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013 and the 2003 Oakwood mutiny.
“Tonight marks another milestone in Inquirer history. 30 years may be short for companies who have already celebrated their 100th year. But believe me, 30 years of the Inquirer is like celebrating 300 years,” shared PDI Chairman Marixi Rufino-Prieto in her speech. “Courage beyond words is our anniversary theme, it gives poignant meaning to the very important role and responsibility that is expected from the men and women of the Inquirer.”
The first copy of the book was given to University of the Philippines President Alfredo Pascual as a gift to the state university where majority of Inquirer’s scholars belong.
Apart from the commemorative book, the Philippine Postal Corp. also released the Inquirer’s 30th anniversary commemorative stamp, the first ever in the country to be printed with holographic design and will be sold for P30 each. “It’s the first of this kind in the country. It has a hologram. We had to print it abroad because our printers here in the Philippines cannot do it. It was printed in Bangkok. It was released just 7 p.m. last night,” said Postmaster General Josefina dela Cruz in report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“For 30 years, we mustered the courage to express the ills of society, courage to be the voice of the powerless, courage to stand our ground, no matter how unpopular it is. With our loyal readers, we had courage to endure pressure and courage to ride the tides of change. We wouldn’t be brave enough to do all this without you, our valued readers, advertisers, dealers, forwarders, school partners, advocacy believers, and even our detractors,” added Rufino-Prieto.
