A Recollection

You cannot fully appreciate something you don’t know. Just like how the Negros Daily Bulletin came into being and persevered for 50 years - first a weekly, a bi-weekly, thrice weekly, and finally, a daily paper, all in a span of five decades.

A recollection of those long and arduous years, will give us a better view of this pioneering community newspaper and truly appreciate the sacrifices, the struggles and taste of triumph that its founders and advocates have gone through.

The NDB story started at its first editorial and business offices on the second floor of what used to be Iris Theater Building beside Lopue’s Department Store on Araneta Street, Bacolod City.

Its founder and first Editor-Publisher, the late bi-lingual writer, author and journalist, Lino Villanueva Moles, held office there with some of his associates. It was there where he started publishing the weekly NEGROS BULLETIN which actually came out with its maiden issue on April 12, 1960 but it was only on September 9 that year when the paper was registered as a second class mail matter at the Bacolod City Post Office, thus it has been observed since then as its official foundation day to this day. On April 8, 1968, the weekly paper was reentered as second class mail matter with the Bureau of Posts in Bacolod City.

When Moles was named provincial standards officer of the Bureau of Commerce in Negros Occidental, he gave up the post of editor-publisher, giving way to his business partner, the late Santi S. Alacapa who took over as Publisher.

At the time, the first news reporter of the paper, Ruperto G. Toga, still in his teens and a high school graduate, was tapped as circulation manager, proofreader, managing editor and later, the full-time editor.

Among the early columnists of the paper were lady lawyer Eduvijes T. Gasataya, a student writer in her time, Beneldez Familiaran, a humorist and poet, Osias J. Magallanes who wrote business articles and columns, with prolific writer Genaro L. Flora, who outlasted several others as the paper’s first and oldest columnist until his demise in 2003 in his late 70s.

When Publisher Santi died in September, 2001, Toga became the paper’s Editor-in-Chief and later, President when the paper was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a corporation.

The paper’s only blind columnist on record was Porfirio A. Lopez who used to dictate what he wanted to write in his columns, first to his wife, then listened to his text and dictated some corrections, before submitting the same to his editor for printing. He could also use the typewriter despite his handicap, made his reactions and formed his opinions on issues and controversies by also listening to radio commentaries, broadcast news and listening to other’s opinions in several newspapers read to him by his wife.

The Negros Bulletin’s first printer was Nalco Press, at the time the most modern with its quality Lino-type and IBM printing machines.

Normally, the paper came out in just four pages, tabloid size at 1,000 copies a week for about 30 years, until it came out twice a week, three times a week and on October 2, 1994, became a daily paper, coming out five days a week, later on six days a week until today, with a minimum of 5,000 copies.

When it was converted into a daily, NEGROS DAILY BULLETIN had the following corporate officers: Santi S. Alacapa, publisher; Ruperto G. Toga, president & editor-in-chief; Arman P. Toga, secretary/columnist; Daniel N. Cajurao, treasurer/columnist; Atty. Erwin Javellana, legal counsel/columnist; Rolando L. Espina, director/columnist; Ramonieto L. Padilla, director/columnist; Cecilia Garaygay-Toga (US-based); Edith B. Colmo, news reporter/business writer); Gil I. Camporazo (director/columnist); Nestor L. Padesio, director/sports editor; and Bro. Leo G. Claridad, director/columnist.

From a number of locations in the city, such as the Negros Press Club Building, SPCMA Building and Beam Publishing Corporation in Singcang, the NDB moved to its present location at Door A-1, Esteban Magdalena Building on Hernaez Street on December 16, 1997 todate.

The paper became a regular member of the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) in 1997 when it was already coming out daily. Since then, the paper has received a number of national awards, especially as Best in Environmental Reporting in the years 2000, 2001 and 2003 from PPI and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) of Germany.

Today, the paper comes out in full color and looks forward to better times ahead in the publishing industry and in its continuing drive to uphold press freedom and journalistic excellence.*