SUNSTAR Cebu managing editor Cherry Ann Lim won the Best Investigative Report award in the 39th Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) held in Manila on Wednesday, October 25.
Of the four finalists emerging from a total of 11 entries for the Investigative Report category, Lim's entry, "After the Tokhang," bagged the award.
"After the Tokhang" is a four-part special report that examines the fate of 67,000 surrenderers in Cebu under Oplan Tokhang, the police campaign to persuade drug users to shun illegal drugs.
The article bested three entries from the Philippine Daily Inquirer - "El Nido Losing its Birds Nest, Collectors" by Redempto Anda, "Children in the Drug War" by Jodee Agoncillo, and "Mariejo Ramos and Saving Laguna de Bay" by Maricar Cinco.
VoxPop's entry for the editorial cartoon -- "Fatal Mistakes" by cartoonist Josua Cabrera -- also landed among the top three finalists. The winner of the said the category was "Against the Big One" by the Manila Times. The other finalist is an editorial cartoon for article entitled "Drug War" by Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Wednesday's CMMA Awards night with a theme "Fear Not For I am with You (Isaiah 43:4) Communicating Hope and Trust in Our Time" marked the 39th year of the award-giving body established by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin in 1978. (Keith Calayag/VoxPop Philippines)