Veteran broadcaster Lourdes Escaros has been elected chairperson of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), taking the helm of the country’s frontline media guild alongside a diverse bench of leaders chosen during its 2026 national congress in Quezon City.
Escaros leads a newly minted national executive committee and directorate composed of community journalists, broadcast reporters, and independent media practitioners tasked with steering the organization through persistent challenges to press freedom, safety, and media workers’ rights. Mindanao-based journalist Kath Cortez was elected vice chairperson.
The complete slate of the new executive committee is as follows: Lourdes Escaros, Chairperson; Kath Cortez, Vice Chairperson; Paul Soriano, Secretary-General; John Sitchon, Deputy Secretary-General; Alyssa Mae Clarin, Treasurer: and Zorayda Eva Lim Mustaril, Auditor.
The Board of Directors is composed of nine representing print, broadcast, and digital newsrooms across the country: Sherwin De Vera, Gina Dean, Edito Mapayo, Jervis Manahan, Aireen Jaymalin, Janvic Mateo, Joyce Panares, Marc Abila and Mara Cepeda.
The incoming leadership is tasked with executing the NUJP’s mandate to safeguard free expression, provide legal and safety support to embattled reporters, and push for equitable labor protections for media workers across the archipelago.