The University of the Philippines College of Media and Communication (UP CMC) is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Gawad Plaridel—the university’s highest award for outstanding media practitioners who demonstrate excellence and ethical integrity in their field.
This year’s distinction will spotlight an individual in journalism, recognizing a body of work that upholds truth, accountability, and the highest standards of the profession.
Named after Marcelo H. del Pilar, whose pen name was Plaridel, the award honors his legacy as a reformist journalist and editor of La Solidaridad. Del Pilar exemplified excellence, integrity, and a deep commitment to public service—values the award seeks to uphold.
UP CMC Professor emeritus Nicanor Tiongson, former Dean and founder of Gawad Plaridel said that the circumstances that prompted the establishment of the award in 2004 persist after two decades.
“The need to study the products of media and evaluate them from the perspective of truth and people empowerment as well as the need to recognize excellence and integrity among media practitioners who can be held up as role models in an industry fraught with compromise, corruption and commercialism—have not changed,” he said.
In fact, Professor Tiongson emphasized that these needs have become even more urgent in the face of the “alarming and rapid spread of disinformation by paid hacks and trolls usually in the service of these corrupt leaders, the suppression of legitimate dissent and of freedom of expression through violence or crooked courts.”
Since its inception in 2004, the Gawad Plaridel has recognized individuals who have demonstrated excellence and integrity in their respective media fields (print, radio, film, television, or new media); a commitment to socially responsible and transformative communication; and a body of work that contributes meaningfully to public discourse and nation-building.
The previous Gawad Plaridel awardees include Eugenia Apostol, Pacheco Seares, Jose “Pete” Lacaba, Che-che Lazaro, Jessica Soho, Bonifacio Ilagan, and the late Nora Aunor.
Each awardee delivers the Plaridel Lecture, addressing critical issues in Philippine media and communication. This tradition reinforces the award’s role in shaping ethical and visionary media practice.
Please send your nomination to the College of Media and Communication, UP Diliman or to [email protected]. Deadline for nomination is September 30, 2025.
