Continuing LJM’s legacy
It’s been close to a decade since legendary journalist and Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) editor in chief Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc (LJM) died on Christmas Eve 2015. But her legacy lives on in her three children: broadcast journalist Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala and doctors Nikko and Marti Magsanoc.
LJM was a force to reckon with, although she was never the “grim and determined” type. Instead, she was a friend and mentor to many, and was known for a sense of “fun and freedom”—a phrase attributed to her.
Before PDI’s founding in December 1984, she was editor of the then-Bulletin Today’s Philippine Panorama, and later edited the weekly Mr. & Ms. Special Edition published by Eugenia Apostol. Jimenez-Magsanoc and Apostol—along with several others—are founding members of PDI.
“Mom always said her work was play. She loved her work so much that when she got her first paycheck, she asked why she was getting paid for something she liked to do,” daughter Kara told Lifestyle in an email interview.
“She also told me that she always knew early on what she wanted to do. It’s that certainty of knowing the path, the joy in the work that inspired me,” she added.
Although Kara is now closely identified with ICanServe Foundation Inc.—an advocacy group of breast cancer survivors and volunteers—of which she is the founding president, she is also a broadcaster who worked as a contributing producer at CNN, and a reporter for Voice of America and the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Unlike LJM who already knew what she wanted to do, Kara said it took her a while to discern her path. “I found my vocation in broadcast journalism and documentary filmmaking … and there hasn’t been a day I dreaded the work! I’m also a cancer patient advocate, something I didn’t plan, but Mom always reminded me that God is a God of happy surprises.”
In a speech she delivered before the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology in 2005, eight years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Kara recounted how she decided to take matters into her own hands.
Asking the hard questions
She had gone to Stanford Hospital in California for a second opinion where the doctors had given her so many options, expecting her to decide on the course of treatment to take in a week’s time.
“I was not used to this arrangement. My doctors in Manila made decisions for me. Or, I relied on my father and brothers who were doctors, and my patient advocates. Now everything depended on me,” she said then.
Kara crammed and gathered as much information she could find, but at the end of the week, she still couldn’t decide on the best option for her.
“Like magic, I snapped out of it in an instant when I realized the power within me. I told myself, ‘I’m a broadcast journalist used to asking questions. Why don’t I ask the doctor questions to help clarify the limited information I gathered at such limited time before making a decision?’ The mere fact that I could feel like a journalist in command of an interview made me regain some control.”
It was also one of LJM’s strengths, her not being afraid to ask the hard questions.
Despite the hectic work in the newsroom, LJM was a hands-on mom. “She always made time for the family. She never displayed self-importance nor made us feel second best to her work, especially when she had to meet a deadline,” Kara said.
She then shared an anecdote to show how involved LJM was with her family. When she was in first grade, the teacher asked her what her mom—a practicing journalist—did for a living, and Kara replied, “’She’s a baker.’ Mom and I were always baking cookies and cake.”
At the next parent-teacher conference, the teacher took LJM aside to tell her that her daughter didn’t know what her profession was. “As if to say I was not informed and should be, or perhaps that I was a slow learner. Looking back, it was a testament to her being a fantastic mom where work never got in the way.
“She always put family first. She declined many opportunities like scholarships from Harvard University, high positions in media companies, if she knew and felt it would get in the way of family life.”
Walking prayer
Kara’s brother, Nikko Magsanoc, is a top urologist affiliated with Makati Medical Center. Her youngest brother Marti is also a doctor but one with interests beyond the medical field. For the opening of his art gallery in Makati, Archivo 1984 last August, curators displayed his personal collection of ephemera on actress Vilma Santos. The exhibit included pictures, posters, music, moving images and a special Vilma drink.
Marti must have imbibed his mother’s sense of “fun and freedom” that sought out lightness despite the seriousness of his work as a doctor. Like LJM, Kara also commits to a task she believes in. “I see it through the end—no matter what—and I will see to it that my team stays happy doing the work.
“I always said my mom was a walking prayer. She was always praying even when we were conversing. When Mom was in high school, her siblings always thought she would be a nun,” Kara added.
“Mom expressed her love and gratitude for her God through love and service for family, friends, and those who were resource-challenged. She especially expressed it through love for country. She was brave in the face of libel and death threats because she had love for country. And that kind of love stems from deep faith. Ultimately, her life was all about love and service to God, and eternal gratitude.”
