Introducing ‘Re-energizing Climate Reporting in the Philippines’ fellows

Climate Tracker has teamed up with Oxfam Pilipinas to re-energize Climate reporting in the Philippines.

We sought eight journalist-editor duos across the country to tell dynamic climate stories. 

After a careful review and assessment, we are excited to announce the Fellows who will be joining us to explore this unique opportunity where leading newsrooms join hands with experts to report on Renewable Energy (RE) and Just Energy Transition (JeT) for the next three months:

ABS-CBN NEWS

Reynald Ramirez is a video journalist and producer with 10 years experience in working for the news industry with specialisation in investigative and explanatory reporting. He’s currently the senior producer of NXT, ABS-CBN News’ digital video team. 

Alfredo Ruzol is a video journalist in ABS-CBN News Digital holding a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts.

 LiCAS NEWS

Jose Torres is a multi-award winning editor-at-large of LiCAS News, a news agency based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is currently the Asia Pacific correspondent of the Washington-based Catholic News Agency and sits as a member of the Editorial Board of Radio Veritas Asia. He is also a two-time recipient of the Philippines’ National Book Award for Journalism. He is the former chairman of the Philippine Center for Photojournalism and the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines and currently a member of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, and of the board of the National Press Club of the Philippines.

Mark Saludes is a journalist specializing in stories concerning social justice, including those about indigenous people’s rights, land and environmental concerns, human rights, and the climate crisis. He is a reporter for the Catholic news site LiCAS.news and the chief of staff of the Laudato Si Information and Media Resource Center that runs OeconoMedia- a faith-based news service that provides information on the global climate crisis and on various environmental issues in Asia. 

PHILSTAR.COM

Jonathan de Santos is news editor at Philstar.com, a Manila-based online newsroom. He reports on human rights, land and IP rights issues, and how development projects and policies affect communities and the places where they live.

Gaea Katreena Cabico is a journalist from the Philippines writing about the environment, climate crisis, human rights and the COVID-19 pandemic.

She was one of the top 10 finalists in the 2020 Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award for her story about the human and environmental costs of an airport project in Manila Bay. She was also a fellow of Climate Tracker’s Global Mentorship for Young Media Professionals and has received story grants from the Earth Journalism Network and Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Journalism Fund.

DAILY TRIBUNE

Elmer N. Manuel works as the Editor for Daily Tribune, an English-language broadsheet publication in the Philippines.

Elmer V. Recuerdo is a journalist, a passionate environmentalist and a development worker based in Tacloban City. He is adept in writing both news and feature articles winning him an award as Best Feature Story writer in 2019 by the Eastern Visayas Media Without Borders. Renewable energy is one of his interests having worked as the former Information, Education and Communications officer of the Alliance for Mindanao Off-Grid Renewable Energy Program (AMORE) sub-national office in Koronadal City.

MINDANEWS

H. Marcos C. Mordeno has worked for a human rights group during the Philippines’ Martial Law era and for some years after the ouster of President Marcos apart from working with NGOs, serving as consultant for several development projects. 

His journalism career also started during the Martial Law period as a contributor to some regional and national papers. He is currently the associate editor of MindaNews, an online news website based in Davao City. 

He has authored, co-authored and edited books on the environment, indigenous peoples and politics.

Yas Ocampo currently handles the social media for MindaNews and has written stories for Mindanao Times and Manila Bulletin as a governance and general beat reporter.

DAILY GUARDIAN

Francis Allan L. Angelo has been a journalist since 2002. He started as a reporter until he was given the top editorial responsibility of Iloilo-based news organization, Daily Guardian. His field of interests includes business/economy, power sector, and environment. 

Ted Aldwin Ong is a writer, freelance journalist, opinion writer, documentarist, and blogger writing for the Daily Guardian and other news publications.

His journalism and communications vocation overlaid over his work as a social activist, development worker, and communications specialist in the Western Visayas region and across the Philippines. 
He is a three-time fellow of the Probe Media Foundation’s fellowship program, a fellow of the 20th Graciano Lopez Jaena Community Journalism of U.P. Diliman – College of Mass Communications, and a fellow of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

DYWC TeleRadyo

Ryan Christopher J. Sorote has been a journalist for over a decade, writing stories in the Central Philippines, reporting for The Freeman newspaper, the oldest daily newspaper outside of Manila. He joined TV5 Inc. as a TV and Radio regional correspondent for its local news program a few years later and also wrote briefly with Rappler.com as one of its first regional correspondents. 

He later relocated to Negros Oriental and wrote for Negros Chronicle, the oldest weekly newspaper in the province, and as an anchor and reporter of DYWC TeleRadyo, owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dumaguete.

DYPR Palawan

Evo Joel Contrivida works as a program Director and reporter of DYPR Palawan, a radio station in the Philippines.

Evo is also known as the blogger Palawanderer writing about entertainment and lifestyle.

Evo is also a recipient of the Philip Morris Brightleaf Award in 2007 as Best Feature writer.