Students from around Dumaguete City filled the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium on February 20, 2025 for the GMA Masterclass hosted by Silliman University.
The event was the last stop of the Visayas leg of the Eleksyon 2025 Dapat Totoo Series, which “…aims to educate why we must take our role in elections seriously and what we can do to arrive at informed choices.”
In his opening message, Silliman Mass Communication alumnus Oliver Victor Amoroso, senior vice president and head of GMA Integrated News, Regional TV and Synergy, emphasized how every vote counts during the elections. He cited a student government election results at Silliman University where a candidate won with just a margin of three votes.
“Those three votes might just come from you, our Gen Zs present here today, who comprise a huge chunk in the voting population for the 2025 midterm elections,” Amoroso said.
GMA Regional TV and Synergy, in partnership with GMA Integrated News, brought practitioners of mass media and communications to Silliman University, engaging with students from SU, Negros Oriental State University, Foundation University, Colegio de Sta. Catalina de Alejandria, and St. Joseph Seminary College.
Hannah Petrache, social media manager of GMA Integrated News, tackled the power of social media and the Internet, urging students to research on the candidates just like they would do in their research projects.
Martin Antonio, sportscaster and analyst of GMA Synergy, related his experience in sports to choosing the right candidate. “What’s your standard for leaders? They should be performing at 100 percent, most of the time, all the time,” he said.
SU alumnus Joeberth Michael Marti Ocao, who serves as managing editor of Digital News and GMA Regional TV, talked about the swing vote and explained how local news mattered. “The primary purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing. Specific locations have specific needs when it comes to the news,” Ocao said.
Seasoned broadcast journalist Susan Enriquez shared her experiences and provided insights on the plight of Filipinos, highlighting the imperative to choose the right leaders. She said, “Hindi pwedeng gawing biro ang ating kabuhayan, hindi pwedeng sayawan ang ating kinabukasan (We cannot regard our source of income lightly; we cannot just dance our way to our future).”
Mariz Umali, also an experienced journalist, urged the audience to vote. She said that even if the voters’ chosen candidates perform poorly on surveys, they should still vote for them: “Basta nakilatis mo, nakilala mo at alam mong maglilingkod sa bayan, hindi corrupt, walang bahid ng katiwalian, kahit kulelat siya sa survey, iboto mo (So long as you tried to examine and know who your candidates are, and if you know they can serve the country, they are not corrupt, they have no unwieldy reputation, even if they come out dismally in surveys, vote for them)!”
The event also featured Martin Javier as celebrity host and Mariane Osabel, Sparkle talent, as celebrity performer.
In her welcome, Dr. Margaret Helen Alvarez, SU interim vice president for academic affairs and research, underscored the importance of the event: “Election time is a vital and pivotal time for mass media and mass communication to be at the forefront of knowledge production and education. This is the reason why we are grateful to GMA network for bringing their Masterclass Series to Dumaguete.”
Prior to the event, the audience signed the Panata Wall, pledging to fight against misinformation and disinformation. | NWI
