Dr. Anselmo Roque : 1939-2019

 

Dr. Anselmo Santos Roque, a veteran and multi-awarded development journalist, joined the PCC on September 1, 2009 as an editorial consultant for the publications and knowledge products prepared and produced by the PCC’s Knowledge Management Division (previously known as Information and Training Division). At the onset of his work in the agency, two of his accomplishments were the revamping of the PCC Newsletter and the release of the maiden issue of PCC Balita.

In a span of one decade, Dr. Roque notably authored three books namely: “Appreciating the Carabao”, “Businessing the Carabao”, and “San Agustin: Rising High on the ‘Nuang’ (carabao)”.

Apart from being a prolific editorial consultant, Dr. Roque was one of the longest-serving provincial correspondents of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI). He covered and wrote compelling stories for PCC publications and submit them as press releases for possible publication. There were a number of stories he wrote about the agency’s undertakings, technologies, farmers’ success stories that made headlines in PDI and other mainstream media. He wrote not just for the sake of writing but with a purpose—i.e., to make a change on people’s perspectives of the carabao as not a beast of burden but a beast of fortune.

Dr. Roque also worked with local media in promoting PCC’s carabao development program and facilitated several knowledge cafés and media fora for the agency. He played a vital role not only in the PCC’s publications but also in terms of its media mileage. In fact, he also anchored a local radio program where he fostered programs related to the national carabao development.

Dr. Roque was in the writing profession for 55 years. He reaped more than 30 awards and recognitions for writing. He was a double “Hall of Fame awardee” of the Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. (PAJ) for having won eight times as “Agricultural Journalist of the Year” in Filipino and English. Last March, he received the lifetime achievement award from PAJ.

He won three times in the Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in Essay and twice in the playwriting contest sponsored by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Diwa ng KKK playwriting and production contest.

His final award was the DOST-PCAARRD Ulat SIPAG (print category) in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the field of print media for the promotion of research and development results utilization.

Dr. Roque was an educator. He loved to share his knowledge on journalism by mentoring budding writers. He is an inspiration to many and a great loss to the journalism industry but his wisdom, teachings, and legacy will live on in the lives and hearts of the people he touched and nurtured.

As he always said, they will “carry on”.

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