Rodolfo T. "Rod" Reyes (August 10, 1935 – April 14, 2016) was a Filipino multi-awarded journalist and media executive. He served as Cabinet Press Secretary to two Presidents - President Fidel V. Ramos and President Joseph Ejercito Estrada. He was also the founding publisher and

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

Manila Standard The ''Manila Standard'' is a broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines. , it is owned by the Romualdez family. The Romualdezes, through incumbent speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, also own Journal Publications, Inc., the owner of tabloid pap ...

'', from its inception in 1987 until 1990.

Career

Newspaper

Reyes began working in the newspaper industry at the age of 12. He was a sports writer of the Manila Times at the age of 16, later designated as an investigative reporter. In 1961, Reyes was accorded the Journalist of the Year due to his exposé on heroin drug syndicates in the suburbs of

Malabon Malabon, officially the City of Malabon ( fil, Lungsod ng Malabon), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people. Located just north ...

disguising as a drug addict. His exposé went into a full-length film entitled "Sa Piling ng mga Sugapa", on which Matt Ranillo III portrayed his role. Gil Portes was the director of the movie. He was also awarded as the Ten Outstanding Young Men awardee and a Nieman Fellowship from the

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. From the Times (where he was also a news editor), he moved to the ''

Manila Chronicle The ''Manila Chronicle'' was a newspaper in the Philippines founded in 1945. Its founding newspapermen sold it to Eugenio López, Sr. It was closed down when martial law was imposed by Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos ...

'' (as the editor-in-chief until the closure due to martial law). He then published ''TV Times'', ''Celebrity'', ''Ginoo'' and ''Woman's Home Companion'' magazines. In 1987, Reyes planned to set up a newspaper, with the help of the Elizalde family. He founded ''

'' on February 11, 1987, with 19 pages on the maiden issue. He was the first publisher, editor-in-chief and chief operating officer of the paper from the first issue until 1990. Reyes also writes a column in the same newspaper, entitled "A Journalist's Memoirs" every Wednesday, of which he detailed his experiences both as a newspaper and broadcast executive.

Broadcasting

Reyes then moved to the Chronicle's sister company

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

, where he served as an executive vice president and news director in the 1960s. This was Reyes' first foray in the broadcasting industry. Reyes later returned to the network as the senior vice president of the news and current affairs division in 1990, 4 years after the network's reopening, months after the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

. He also served as a general manager and executive vice president of the GMA Radio Television Arts (when the Gozon-Duavit-Jimenez triumvirate took over the operations of Channel 7 from the Stewart family) in 1974, and the Maharlika Broadcasting System (now known as

People's Television Network People's Television Network ( fil, Telebisyon ng Bayan; abbreviated PTV) is the flagship State broadcasting, state broadcaster owned by the Government of the Philippines. Founded in 1974, PTV is the main brand of People's Television Network, In ...

) in the 1980s. He was also a member of the Manila International Film Festival organizing committee from 1983 to 1984. He is also a counsellor of the Philippine embassy based in Washington D.C. Reyes was appointed as the Press Secretary from July 1992 until May 1993 under the

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

administration. Under his watch, Reyes strengthened the presidential coverage by setting-up the Presidential News Desk. It was later reappointed by then-president

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

and served from June 1998 to April 2000. He was later appointed as chief of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office - Taiwan.

Death

Reyes died at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa on the evening of April 14, 2016 due to heart failure. He was 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Rod 1935 births 2016 deaths ABS-CBN people Filipino media executives Filipino newspaper publishers (people) Presidential spokespersons (Philippines) People from Manila GMA Network (company) people Estrada administration cabinet members Ramos administration cabinet members