Inquirer founding chair Eugenia ‘Eggie’ Apostol; 100
Eugenia Duran Apostol, founding chair of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), died peacefully in her sleep on Sunday, Sept. 13, leaving behind a legacy of journalism defined by the pursuit of truth and justice, and the preservation of press freedom and democracy.
In her view, that meant helping dismantle a dictatorship.
She would have turned 101 this Sept. 29.
The family of the deceased has requested privacy in this time of mourning, even as expressions of grief have since poured in on social media from individuals and groups who had honored her in life.
Before the founding of PDI in 1985, Apostol’s fearlessness had already attracted the Marcos military. During a three-and-a-half hour grilling at Fort Bonifacio in January 1983, she was told that her lifestyle magazine, Mr. & Ms., was dangerous because it was “being read by the National Democratic Front,” whose guerrilla arm had been waging a communist insurgency.
“We have been careful but unafraid,” she told her inquisitors.
Seven months later, she stunned the Marcos administration with the Mr. & Ms. Special Edition, a tabloid pullout that chronicled the Yellow Confetti rallies and was launched mainly to cover the Agrava Commission’s fact-finding investigation of the Aug. 21, 1983, assassination of former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
Then came PDI, which Apostol steered through the People Power revolt in February 1986. Later, through Pinoy Times, a publication she established after the Inquirer, she exposed the corruption that led to the impeachment trial and ouster of President Joseph Estrada on corruption charges.
Extraordinary strength, courage
In 2006, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Arts. That same year, Time Magazine named her and Inquirer editor in chief Letty Jimenez Magsanoc among its Asian Heroes of the past 60 years.
“The world of journalism has lost a legend,” said Marixi R. Prieto, who succeeded as PDI chair when Apostol retired from the paper in 1994. “Eggie was a woman of extraordinary strength and courage, someone I had a privilege of knowing. She built the Inquirer on a foundation of truth and independence, and fiercely protected those values through the years.”
“I will always remember the many times she stood for our reporters and editors and defended their right to expose wrongdoing, no matter how powerful the people involved. Those moments captured so much of who she was—strong, principled, courageous, and unwavering in what she believed was right,” Prieto added.
“Her strength, conviction, and love for the Inquirer will always stay with us,” Prieto said. “Our deepest condolences to [her son] Carlos and the rest of the family.”
‘Power of a free press’
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, in a social media post announcing Apostol’s passing, said in tribute: “With courage and unwavering integrity, Apostol showed the power of a free press to speak truth, serve the public and uphold democracy. Her legacy lives on in every journalist who continues to defend truth and independence, and the people’s right to know.”
Apostol, who hailed from Sorsogon province and was a journalism magna cum laude graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, previously edited the women’s pages of The Manila Times and The Manila Chronicle for 20 years.
After retiring from the Inquirer, she established the Foundation for Worldwide People Power in 1996 to preserve the legacy of the 1986 People Power Revolution.
Aside from earning the Magsaysay and Time Magazine honors, she became the first recipient of the Knight International Press Fellowship Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Center for Journalists.
In 2004, she also received the Plaridel Award, the highest honor bestowed by the University of the Philippines for journalism and media.
In 2016, she and Magsanoc (who died on Dec. 24 the previous year) were among the recipients of the People Power Award from the Edsa People Power Commission. —WITH REPORTS FROM DIANNE SAMPANG AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
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