Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc. Photo courtesy of @inquirerdotnet
MANILA -- The Philippine Daily Inquirer's editor in chief, Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc, has passed away at the St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City Thursday, the eve of Christmas, said the website of the newspaper she has led for over two decades.
"In her quarter-century as chief editor, she was instrumental in making the Inquirer the country’s leading newspaper. In 1998, a senior senator paid it the ultimate compliment, saying that regardless of what senators and other public officials did, the Inquirer’s front page set the daily agenda," said the article, posted 11:25 p.m.
Earlier, the Inquirer's Twitter account, @inquirerdotnet, carried a link to its news website's story announcing her demise.
"It is with deep sorrow that the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports the death of its esteemed editor in chief," said the Inquirer.net on its article entitled, "The Inquirer condoles with the Jimenez and Magsanoc families."
"The country has lost a bedrock of journalism. And we, the Inquirer family and her family in the profession, feel the incalculable loss of a well-loved leader, a mentor, a friend. We pray for strength in this hour of bereavement," the earlier online article, with time stamp 9:50 p.m., said.
A veteran and a respected name in the industry, Magsanoc's career in journalism started in the 1960's. Prior to joining the Inquirer, she worked as editor for Philippine Panorama, Mr & Ms Special Edition, and the Sunday Inquirer Magazine, among others.
She was also among those who fought for press freedom during the Marcos dictatorship.
Her expertise and firm grasp of her duties as a journalist earned her various distinctions in the Philippines and abroad.
The Inquirer news site said Magsanoc was recipient of the following awards and recognition:
- Among 50 Asians dubbed as “The Stars of Asia” by the BusinessWeek international magazine in 2000;
- Marcelo H. Del Pilar Journalism Awardee for Print by the Rotary Club of Manila in 2000; and
- Among Asia's heroes of the last 60 years by the Time magazine, along with former President Corazon Aquino, Filipino billiards champion Efren “Bata” Reyes, and Inquirer founding chair Eugenia Duran Apostol in 2006.
News about Magsanoc's death quickly spread on social media. Fellow journalists and media men mourned her passing.
SEE BELOW FOR THE 1001STTIME THE REITERATION OF DEMAND PAYMENT OF RETIREMENT PAY WHICH SHELL REFUSED TO HONOR IN THE PRESENCE AND DEEMED APPROVAL OF THE HONORABLE MAGISTRATES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES
