Ben Palma and News Express

"Don't be dismayed by goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."
-- Richard Bach

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The first editor of News Express, a bi-weekly community paper in Western Visayas, Philippines, has joined our media colleagues who recently departed.
The death of Ben Palma in his hospital bed on May 27 in Iloilo City came two weeks after Antique journalist Rey Alcalde died also in the hospital.
They thus joined our colleagues Lydia Pendon, Marcos Villalon, Teddy Sumaray, Bob Bacaling, Atty. Rex Salvilla, Dra. Vicky Primero, Ivan Suansing, Rowena Barte-Zulueta, Joe Sepulvida, Tony Laniog, Eddie Laczi, German Gonzales, Boy Pablo, Sol Genson, Mark Sumagaysay, Rene Porras, Alex Sumagaysay, Tony Masculino, Nap Nava, Lito Jimena, Edwin Alcozero, Atty. Fraulin Penasales, Atty. Frermin Sornito, and Suzanne Pastrana, to name only a few, who passed away in recent memory.
We were with Ben Palma, columnist and "editor" since the first issue of New Express, "the best alternative", rolled off the press in March 1988.

OFFICE

Our first office was at the mezzanine floor inside the St. Elizabeth Billiard and Bowling Alleys (SEBBA).
After two issues, we transferred to the Immaculate Concepcion Bldg. on Ledesma St., Iloilo City in the Fortune Printing Press office before we found a new home on Guanco St. in 1992 (News Express is now located in Jaro district).
The late and well-loved Inocencio "Pops" Malones, who owned the Fortune Printing Press, was the publisher. Managing editor Agnes Espano-Dimzun was the de facto editor-in-chief. Jing Torres, Atty. Teopisto "Pet" Melliza, Femia Pedregosa and yours truly were members of the editorial staff. I was also the paper's sports editor. Jessie Terre and the late Hiligaynon professor Santiago Alv. Mulato were contributors in Hiligaynon page. Now Journal Visayas publisher Giovannie Vaay was circulation manager assisted by Jessie "Onyok" Laranja.
Mariano Malones, now mayor of Maasin, Iloilo, was our business manager assisted by Ramon Vego.
In 1990 or two years after News Express was born, Palma, backed up by his late buddy, Numeriano Cajilig, Jr., staged a "coup d'etat" and asked the court to stop Publisher Pops Malones from using the name of News Express.

VERSION

Palma went on to publish his own version of "News Express", a low-quality four-paged tabloid to sustain and justify his rebellion.
Pops and the original News Express team remained intact. For a while, we were compelled to use the name "Fortune News" to sustain and justify our existence, business, and public identification.
Palma was a virtual one-man army in his "News Express", which relied entirely on dubious Land Transportation Office (LTO) advertisements for survival.
After a brief court battle, Palma lost not only the right to use the name of New Express; he lost his position and regular column, The Square One (in the aftermath of Palma's defeat, he resumed column-writing in The Sentinel together with editor-in-chief Manuel "Boy" Mejorada, Dean Art Jimenez, photojournalist Alan Fajardo, and chess buddy Romeo "Butch" Paloma). 

ASSUME

Full-time community journalist Melliza wasn't yet a lawyer when he assumed as News Express editor. Aside from writing for The Sentinel, Palma became a hard-hitting commentator when he joined the broadcast industry in dySI in the early 90's, where he earned the monicker as "Boyong" (tenacious).
He disappeared from media works for some time and became a part-time contractor.
A former chess champion and contemporary of the first Asian grand master Eugene Torre, Palma tried to revive in mid-90's a glorious chess career that made him famous in the 70s and 80s, but was dejected badly when he was foiled by an unheralded Bacolod youngster, Trinie Olmedo, in a title match of a regional chess championship held at the Sarabia Manor Hotel in Iloilo City.
Despite his notoriety as Boyong, Palma was a favorite drinking buddy of who's who both in the political and media mainstream.
He was sometimes referred to as the "father rock", a tag known only to some enterprising media characters.
Farewell, Boyong. Rest and peace, Mr. Father Rock!