PPI: One national daily, four community papers vie for Sustainable Construction Reporting awards

For their outstanding reportage on sustainable construction, focusing on little-explored topics—from using inclusive strategies to rebuild from the rubble to giving voice to indigenous peoples’ aspirations for a school they could call their own—one national and four community newspapers have emerged as finalists in this year’s Journalism Awards for Sustainable Construction Reporting (JASCOR).

Finalists include three stories from the Philippine Daily Inquirer for the national newspaper category, and five from community papers, namely, Baguio Chronicle, Mindanao Observer, Sun.Star Cebu, and The Freeman.

JASCOR aims to recognize excellent stories from the print media that help the public better understand, appreciate and support sustainable construction. It is jointly organized by construction solutions company Holcim Philippines and the Philippine Press Institute (PPI), the country’s biggest association of newspapers.

As defined by the LafargeHolcim Group, one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates, sustainable construction is “building in a way that is socially, economically, environmentally, functionally, and aesthetically balanced to meet today’s needs and to conserve resources for future generations.”

Now on its third cycle, the JASCOR is the first and only one of its kind in the Philippines. The awards ceremony is slated for November 10, 2016 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.

For this year’s awards, JASCOR’s boards of screeners and judges evaluated stories published from August 1, 2015 to July 31, 2016.

Holcim Philippines and PPI will award the Sustainable Construction Story of the Year in each category—

one for national newspapers and another for community newspapers— to the writers whose articles best demonstrate understanding of the value and benefits of sustainable construction. The two winners will each get a cash prize of P50,000 and a trophy.

The remaining finalists will each receive a consolation prize of P10,000.

The Inquirer will receive the Merit Award for Sustainable Construction Reporting and a cash prize of P75,000 for having the most number of finalists this year, sweeping the national newspaper category.

For more details about JASCOR, please contact PPI at (02) 527-9632/527-4478 or email ppressinstitute@gmail.com and dongil.carreon@lafargeholcim.com.

National Newspaper Category Finalists

Baguio-La Trinidad Traffic Solvers Hope for E-Trains
Vincent Cabreza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
September 22, 2015

Climate Change Revives ‘Natural Building’ of Houses
Yolanda Sotelo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
February 3, 2016

New Growth Areas for Renewable Energy
Riza Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 30, 2016

Community Newspaper Category Finalists

A Brave New School Without Walls
Lina Sagaral Reyes, with reports from ReyGarcia, Mel Madera, Nova Thirdy Agravante, Mary Rose Silvidad, Dahlia Benemerito
Mindanao Observer
July 24, 2016

Basilica Minore del Santo Niño: Restoring a Historical Landmark
July 31, 2016
May Miasco
The Freeman

Disaster-Proofing Bantayan
Flornisa Gitgano
Sun.Star Cebu
July 27, 2016

St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Clarin, Bohol: Rising from the Rubble
Michael Vencynth Braga
The Freeman
July 31, 2016

The Zero Carbon Resort Demonstration Cottage: Retrofitting the “Bahay Kubo” for Climate Change
Frank Cimatu
Baguio Chronicle
May 28-June 3, 2016