Rama's Return Imminent
Juan L. Mercado Bids Farewell to Sun.Star Cebu After 40 Years of Journalism
Juan L. Mercado, a towering figure among opinion makers in the Philippines, announced his retirement from writing for Sun.Star Cebu in a column published on December 27, 2014. At the age of 83, Mercado had clocked over four decades in journalism.
Known as Johnny to friends, Mercado was renowned for his reflective, principled, and conversational voice. He blended journalistic rigor with personal insight, never preaching but posing questions, offering context, and helping readers arrive at their own conclusions. His columns often cited people, documents, facts, and figures, inviting connection, conversation, dialogue, and discourse.
Mercado's writing acknowledged alternative views and blended narratives without losing differing voices. In a piece published in the Korean Herald, he explored competing narratives around territorial disputes in the South China Sea. He also acknowledged reader views, even those that were divergent from his own, and invited engagement, even correction.
As a new columnist in 2003, the returning writer for Stage Five, a media engagement, struggled to find their voice. Inspired by Mercado's dogged pursuit of the truth, they express a lifelong and heartfelt yearning to learn the craft. They hope that their own writing will fill some void in public spaces and address the needs of those seeking to understand their world better, and speak truth to power, as Mercado did.
In his retirement piece, Mercado expressed a void that would be left in the public space shared by those needing to understand the world better. He called upon the next generation of journalists to step up and speak truth to power, continuing his legacy of insightful, thought-provoking journalism.
The writer, who prefers paper over posts, was given six tips for writing by Mercado, including being an authority or finding one to cite. As they return to write for Stage Five, they hope to embody these tips and continue the tradition of excellence set by Juan L. Mercado.
In his retirement piece, Mercado voiced his anticipation for his articles on education-and-self-development and personal-growth to be continued in Cebu, hoping the new generation of writers would pick up where he left off. Recognizing the importance of diverse perspectives, he encouraged the future journalists to delve into the weather patterns of Cebu, as they contribute to the discourse of the city and the world beyond.
