Amaranth celebrates two-year streak in prestigious journalism fellowship

For the second year in a row, Rappler selects Amaranth’s student editor for the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship Program—a prestigious nationwide training initiative for community journalists, named in honor of the veteran and multi-awarded investigative journalist, Aries Rufo.

This marks the second time that Amaranth has successfully sent a representative to the program following the graduation of their Executive Editor, Jerry Yubal Jr. from the fellowship in April 2024.

Efren Cyril Bocar, the Managing Editor of Amaranth and a fourth-year Bachelor of Arts in English Language Studies (ABELS) student at Visayas State University has been selected for this year’s edition of the program. He hails from Llorente, Eastern Samar, and will join six other student journalists from across the country in an extensive training workshop with Rappler editors and experts.

Bocar was chosen among the more than 100 applicants for this year’s fellowship cycle, which marks the second year it opened its doors to campus journalists since it was launched in 2019. 

Throughout the program, Bocar and the other fellows will receive training on topics such as debunking fake news, community reporting, and using digital tools in journalism. He will also receive a monthly stipend of P8,000.00 from September 2024 to January 2025.

In an interview, Bocar expressed his excitement about bringing the stories of his community into the broader spectrum akin to the training and community reporting tasks he is set to undertake throughout the program.

“I really aspire to become a better campus journalist by indulging within the communities that I live in and writing about the issues that concern them, especially since I am from an area in Eastern Visayas that doesn't get much media attention,” the managing editor said. 

Joining Bocar in the campus journalist category are Angelee Kaye Abelinde of The Bicol Universitarian (Camarines Sur), Reinnard Balonzo of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (Legazpi City, Albay), Cris Fernan Bayaga of Lanog Publication (Cebu City), Lyndee Buenagua of UPB Outcrop/ Highland 360 (Baguio City), Lorie Khyle Melivo of The Defender (Mariveles, Bataan), and Lara Sophia Ranas of The Nationalian Clarion (Clark, Pampanga). 

Meanwhile, the three local and career reporters selected include Rjay Castor of the Daily Guardian (Iloilo City), Erwin Mascariñas, a freelance journalist from Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, and Max Limpag, also a freelance journalist from Cebu.

Rappler and Journalism for Nation Building Foundation (JNBF) also announced three selected newsroom fellows for the #FactsMatter Fellowship for ASEAN journalists. The selected fellows are Sulaiman Bin Daud of Mothership (Singapore), Artika Farmita of Cek Fakta Tempo (Indonesia), and Chan Thul Prak of Kiripost (Cambodia). 

Bocar is expected to officially start his fellowship this month and will join the other fellows at the Rappler Headquarters in Pasig City for a four-day on-site training workshop to be held from September 26 to 29, 2024.

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