Afable, 95

FILIPINO JOURNALIST and social advocate Cecilia Elena Cariño Afable died of pulmonary sepsis last June 12. She was 95. She was of Ibaloi descent, her mother’s father being a chieftain of that tribe.

Known as the “Grand Dame of Baguio media”, Afable was the editor and a columnist of the Baguio Midland Courier (BMC). She wrote the column “In and Out of Baguio” till her last days. Through her direction, the weekly community paper has been instrumental in the discussion of issues affecting the summer capital. Afable, like her paper’s motto, was said to embody the following traits: “Fair, Fearless, Friendly, and Free”.

According to the BMC News Desk, she began her career in the 1930s writing for the Philippine Magazine and the Baguio Bulletin on folklore and the Igorot identity. Afable, the late Baguio museum curator Leonora San Agustin, and former Baguio City Mayor Virginia de Guia were known as “Baguio’s Three Witches”. They fought to preserve the natural environment of Baguio and opposed overdevelopment in their city.
“Together with her equally illustrious brothers, she helped start community journalism in the Cordilleras and guided it to what it is now. She was in forefront of environmentalism, indigenous peoples and women’s rights. We will forever be indebted for her strength, leadership and guidance but we, too, will never forget her humor, panache and free spiritedness.”Statements of lament poured for the media icon. The Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) described Afable’s contribution to her community thus:

“She went to jail with us, went to court with us and marched in the streets with us. But she also danced with us, drank with us and sang with us in our bonfires and gatherings.

“Her loss will take a century to fill but it was her overshadowing yet motherly presence that will take longer to erase.”

The government through deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte sent its condolences:

“As our country celebrated Independence Day this year, we mourned, together with the city of Baguio, the passing of a true pillar of Philippine journalism—Cecile Cariño Afable.

“Afable was known as the Grand Dame of Baguio media. She was a fervent advocate of press freedom and the preservation of Baguio’s cultural heritage and natural environment.