Joint Task Group (JTG) – Cebu honored Ang Suga Publication with the Best Student Publication Award for writing the best news article about the Youth Leaders’ Forum today, April 27, 2023, at Camp Lapu-Lapu, Brgy. Apas, Cebu City.

 

Held last February 25, 2023, the forum aimed to develop youth and community awareness in partnership with the Cebu City Federation of Tertiary Supreme Student Councils and Governments (CCFTSSCG), JTG-Cebu, and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Region VII.

 

Ang Suga’s Lorille Antoinette Mata (Bachelor of Arts in Communication major in Broadcast Journalism IV), Mary Molly Tolentino (Bachelor of Science in Psychology II), and Lera Jane Camangyan (Bachelor of Arts in English Language II) accepted the award for their article “Student leaders, journalists acquaint at Youth Leaders’ Forum.”

 

As the Editor-in-Chief (EIC), Mata shared that the unexpected award is the “blessing and a boost of confidence” that she needed after a jampacked second semester.

 

“In Ang Suga, we put the truth and genuine service first above all else. We see to it that we live by it as student journalists, and we are overwhelmed that people can see and feel it emanate from us, too. We can thrive without validation, but it feels good to be recognized once in a while too,” she added.

 

Mata entered the publication in her first year and now that she is a graduating student, she can attest to the dedication and commitment of Ang Suga’s light-bearers.

 

“Ang Suga will always be the risk that I will always be willing to take, and it’s light I will keep burning in me forever,” she expressed.

 

Spirit of comradeship

 

CCFTSSCG President and Cebu Normal University (CNU) – Supreme Student Council (SSC) President Hon. Shella Carpina conveyed that today’s gathering broke the stereotype between students and men and women in uniform.

 

She furthered that the students and the people in authority are not enemies but allies and commended the authorities for being “pro-student.”

 

Meanwhile, Col. Joey Escanillas, PA, Commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) JTG-Cebu expressed how important it is to involve student publications in their cause because words have power that can influence readers with how to perceive things in the youth and government.

 

Escanillas also shared with Ang Suga his aspiration to conduct contests such as news writing and essay writing every month with specific topics to assess the skills and potential of student journalists. §

Words by Jonalyn Infante

Photos by Nicole Marie Dumayac