VETERAN JOURNALIST and former chairperson of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Jose Jaime Espina passed away on Wednesday evening. He was 59.
Mr. Espina died of liver cancer, his sister Inday Espina-Varona said in a Faceboost post. He survived a severe coronavirus infection and was able to return to his family before his death, she added.
Mr. Espina served as a correspondent for the now-defunct Today newspaper and worked at the Lifestyle Magazine of the Manila Standard, his sister said. He was also an editor of INQUIRER.net and the Interaksyon news site.
He was “a tireless champion for the freedom of the press and the welfare of media workers,” the NUJP said in a statement.
“He was a press freedom hero worthy of admiration and emulation,” it said. “From the Marcos dictatorship until the Duterte administration, he consistently served the Filipino people by upholding the truth.”
Mr. Espina, as one of the founding members of NUJP, led various press freedom campaigns.
He was “among the first responders” in the aftermath of the worst attack on the Philippine press, known as the Maguindanao Massacre, the NUJP said.
He was also “among the loudest voices at rallies in support of the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, leading a march in Quezon City in March 2020 and later joining similar activities in Bacolod City, where he was based,” the media organization said.
“He was a tireless champion for the freedom of the press and the welfare of media workers,” it said.
BusinessWorld interviewed Mr. Espina on several occasions on matters relating to the Philippine press — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza