Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, D.D., of the Diocese of Pasig will be the keynote speaker during the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) to be held on October 25 at the Star Theater, Star City, Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay City.
Bishop Vergara is chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference Episcopal Commission on Social Communications and Mass Media (CBCP-ECSCMM).
The CBCP-ECSCMM is the church organization that links the Catholic Church to mass media in the fields of print, radio, television, advertising, music, cinema and the Internet.
He will speak on the CMMA theme this year, “Fear not, for I am with you (Isaiah 43:55)”; communicating hope and trust in our time.
This marks the 39th year of the awards-giving organization established by the late Jaime L. Cardinal Sin to pay tribute to values-oriented mass media works and workers.
The date of the CMMA presentation was set by the CMMA Foundation board of trustees headed by D. Edgard A. Cabangon, chairman and president, during a meeting at Dominga Building 3 on Chino Roces corner De La Rosa Streets, where the CMMA Secretariat offices are located.
The CMMA was established in 1978 by Cardinal Sin, then-Archbishop of Manila, as the means by which the Archdiocese of Manila recognizes “those who are serving God through the mass media.” Through the years, it has become a tradition and a prestigious event joined by some of the country’s most respected personalities in the fields of television, radio, print media, music, cinema, the Internet, as well as by students from various academic institutions.
The CMMA had a two-year interruption in its operation and was revived in 2000 by the Cardinal, who asked the late Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua to be its chairman and president. He held the post until March last year.
Last year’s presentation of the 38th Catholic Mass Media Awards Night, held on October 12, 2016, at the Star Theater in Pasay City, was a great success, based on the overwhelming attendance of individuals and organizations in the field of mass communications. Similarly, the number of entries received by the CMMA continues to increase significantly, affirming that the organization consistently gains support from mass media practitioners and advocates from around the country.