Isagani Yambot: loving father, excellent journalist, press freedom fighter

Gani, considered as a giant in the Philippine media industry, is a simple man, a loving father, a passionate teacher and a staunch defender of press freedom.

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – “Every time he comes home from work, no matter how late, I would still feel his tender kisses on me.”

This is but part of the fond memories of Marie Paz of her father, Isagani Yambot, publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Yambot or Gani to his colleagues, died of a heart attack on March 2, a few days after undergoing a quadruple bypass surgery. He was 77.

At the wake at the Arlington Funeral Homes in Quezon City, March 6, another daughter, Maria Julieta, recalled how their father would take them to Rizal (formerly Luneta) Park during weekends. “We would go on boating. He would ask us how our week had been. We would eat together. He loved Japanese food, Chinese food,” Ma. Julieta told journalists and friends.

Gani, considered as a giant in the Philippine media industry, is a simple man, a loving father, a passionate teacher and a staunch defender of press freedom.

A liberal arts graduate, Gani exposed her children early to arts and culture, taking them to ballets, musicals and operas, Maria Paz and Maria Julieta both said.

A voracious reader himself, Gani also developed his children’s love for books. Maria Paz said that during summer, the family would go on an outing but with his father’s one condition – that all of them would read a good book. For a second book, they would get chocolates as a reward. “Daddy is like that. He told us that even during vacation, we need to educate ourselves,” Marie Paz said.

Gani, the son of teachers, hailed from Tagbilaran City, Bohol. When the family settled in Manila, Gani went to Torres High School in Tondo and graduated valedictorian. There, he began his journalism career, writing for the student publication.

After graduating from the University of the Philippines (UP), he worked for the Manila Times. He would write and edit for several other publications until he joined the Inquirer in 1989. He became its publisher in 1994.

Good journalism

Luis Teodoro, deputy director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, said that in events where ethics and professional standards were the subject of discussion, “Gani was constant in his opposition to spin and to editorializing in the news pages, believing that the news is meant to provide information and that opinion is best left to the op-ed pages.”

“It’s tempting to say that his perspective puts him in the old school category, but the truth is that his perspective is neither old nor new, just good journalism,” Teodoro said in his speech.

“We are very grateful for all of his contributions and we applaud his passion and commitment to his work,” the PDI said in a statement.

“Gani Yambot’s benign presence, his jokes and his insights we will all miss, as his presence, I am sure, will be missed in the Inquirer newsroom. Beyond that, however, his example should remind us all that while our common destiny is to leave this world whether early or late, the people and the community we serve will remember us with fondness and appreciation only if we do journalism the justice it deserves by being as upright and as moral, as decent and as honorable, as Gani was,” Teodoro said.

Passionate teacher

Gani had always been willing to share his skills to young journalists.

Gani was among the pioneer teachers of the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC).

“He was an easy favorite among our graduate students because of his expertise, humor, and humility. We fondly recall his early teaching days when he would read his jokes from a written script. Much later, his lectures and jokes would come spontaneously,” Ramon Tuazon of the AIJC said.

Gani was also a constant resource speaker in the national activities of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), the national alliance of tertiary student publications.

Johnny Dayang, president of the Publishers Association of the Philippines, said Gani had the passion to help the community and provincial journalists.

Ermin Garcia Jr., former executive director of Philippine Press Institute, said of Gani, “He was a great teacher – soft spoken, unassuming and very brief in his words.”

Garcia recalled how Gani gave a lecture on libel law. “You never use the word ‘ugly’ or pangit, even if it is true because truth is not a defense in libel,” Garcia quoted Gani as saying. “They [journalists] finally learned the very basic thing in libel law.

Gani himself was sued many times for libel. “When Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s husband included him among the 46 journalists Mr. Arroyo sued for libel in 2006, Gani said he had so many suits he felt as if he was the best- dressed journalist in Manila,” Teodoro said.

“Gani is someone who would eat libel for dinner and would wake up not being affected,” Garcia said.

Press freedom fighter

In its statement, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) described Gani as “a tireless advocate of press freedom.”

“Notwithstanding manning the helm of one of the top newspapers in the country, he always found time to involve himself in campaigns for press freedom and to end media killings,” the NUJP said.

Teodoro said even during the martial law period, Gani would often come to the UP College of Mass Communication to candidly discuss with students the true state of the media.

“In the last two years since the Ampatuan massacre, he also attended, and often spoke at the marches and demonstrations demanding justice for the victims of that atrocity,” Teodoro said.

Gani’s youngest daughter, Maria Vilma, thanked all those who came to the wake of their father. “He was not only an excellent journalist but also a human rights advocate, political activist, friend. Your presence shows how meaningful the life he lived.”