‘It Was An Honor To Have Learned From An Icon' — MB Reporters

A few words are not enough to describe the impact made by Manila Bulletin editor-in-chief Crispulo 'Cris' Icban Jr., on budding journalists, especially on the group of reporters that came in from 2013 to 2018.

- Dhel Nazario

“When we stepped into the Manila Bulletin as trainees, we were each awed by the presence of Mr. Icban. We each treasure an experience on how he had influenced each of us,” many of them said.

Betheena Unite, who was one of the first trainees in 2014, remembers how a brief moment with him showed her that Mr. Icban was not to be feared, as she had once thought when she first stepped into the newsroom.

“A few weeks after I started my training, I watched Mr. Icban walk to his old office while he was reading a message on his phone. He walked past his office but I was too shy to call is attention to that. He soon realized that and he laughed at himself, shook his head, and walked back to enter his office. I knew then that someone who could laugh at himself was not to be feared,” she said.

One of the usual assignments to a new reporter was to interview Mr. Icban, either for the anniversary supplement, or for an award that he was given (which were many).

Argyll Geducos, MB’s Malacañang reporter, had that assignment.