Herbert Vego: A quality journalist on board

“No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods.”
—Socrates

By Alex P. Vidal

IF I were a newspaper or magazine publisher, I would take good care of Herbert L. Vego in whatever means and in whatever capacity and circumstance.
With his experience and solid reputation, he is not only an institution in the media industry in Western Visayas, Mr. Vego is also a quality community journalist and one of the most credible and highly respected media godfathers alive today.
Having him on board in any media outlet is like having a LeBron James in the basketball team; it’s like playing alongside David Beckham in the World Cup; or hobnobbing with Kofi Annan in the United Nations.
In this lifetime, there can be no one else like Mr. Vego in as far as being a paragon in community journalism is concerned.
In terms of character, decency, intellect, values, and gracefulness, seasoned journalist Herbert Vego is notches higher and a cut above the rest. 
In this generation when the “young ones” in the media almost have a shortage of role models to look up to among the “young once”, soft-spoken Mr. Vego fills the vacuum.   

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Seventy-year-old Vego spent his early years in journalism in showbiz even before the Martial Law in the early 70s, and has been writing for nearly 50 years now; yet, he isn’t rich.
He has broken bread with the who’s who in the world of entertainment, business, diplomacy, religion, sports, and politics, yet his name is not there on the elite list of media’s “Forbes” for the rich and famous. 
He still regularly attends in the regular press conferences and other news-gathering events, an imagery that can be likened to “jurassic” Juan Ponce Enrile in the company of grandchildren Julienne Baronda, Mike Gorriceta, Raul Tupas, Braden John Biron, and Lorenz Defensor.
Had Mr. Vego practiced in Metro Manila, or if he had chosen another lucrative profession when he was 50 years younger, he would now be living in a posh Manny Villar-model gated subdivision if he didn’t own a pricey condo unit in Pasig.
If he didn’t stick to local journalism and became a real estate broker, a government appointee, a diplomat, or an STL franchisee, Mr. Vego would now be driving a Cadillac and jet-setting across Macau to Munich, Hanoi to Cologne, and Zaire to Karachi vice versa for his regular vacation trips.
But his brand of existentialism, his towering love for journalism, and passion for writing had brought him to a life in the Coliboaia Cave, so to speak, instead of the kind of lifestyle where he could saunter in the glamour of paradise and the glitzy world of luxury.

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Even when he was making a name in Metro Manila jockeying for some arcane magazines and periodicals, Mr. Vego was aware there’s no money in journalism. 
Unless he engaged in a pyramid scam, purchased his way for a slot in the House of Representatives party-list, became a gambling lord, or dabbled in trafficking of illegal drugs, he knew journalism would only give him peanuts, crumbs and tears, not pelfs and privileges, not a Ford Expedition, an investment in the stock market, or a Tagaytay rest house like the ones being enjoyed by some of his contemporaries in Metro Manila who had shifted to other profitable careers. 
Despite a looming economic uncertainty, Mr. Vego decided to return from Manila to Iloilo 40 years ago and opted to stay for good to embrace his first love: journalism.  
He has written dozens of articles detailing why sticking to journalism as a career is equivalent to a vow of poverty like monks and hermits.
In those articles, he empathetically gave his readers a front seat view why journalists like him can never gain some inroads in the pursuit of material wealth. 
Despite struggling for decades eking out a decent living in the world of letters, the formula of success could only give Mr. Vego citations and certificates, praises, respect from politicians and fellow media workers, and inner satisfaction, but not financial rewards enough to provide for himself and give his family a comfortable and secure life.  

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Mr. Vego epitomizes the predicament of an enterprising journalist in the Philippines with no security of tenure, no regular employment benefits, and who now faces the grim prospect of retiring a pauper and leaving only a pair of sandals for his loved ones.
Journalists also need a healthcare and regular medical checkups just like other laborers.
We have heard depressing stories before about other senior colleagues who had to grapple as indigents during their last days on earth because they didn’t have enough funds during rainy season.  
Mr. Vego can now be actually considered as semi-retired, but journalists, grizzled column writers in Mr. Vego’s caliber, don’t have a retirement. 
We write as long as we have the capacity to think and can still hit the keyboard.
Sickness and old age can’t cripple and obliterate our passion to write and remain in the mainstream.
There have been scores of never-say-quit journalists in sickbed who continued to pound the keys of their typewriters and computers until they could no longer resist death.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Journalist Herbert Vego and the New York Parade

“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.”
-- Gilbert K. Chesterton

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- I’m glad to know that a legitimate and truly respected veteran journalist from Iloilo City, Philippines will be coming to New York City to chronicle the 120th Philippine Independence Day Parade on June 3, 2018.
Herbert Vego, 68, a columnist and editor since obtaining an AB-Journalism course at the Manuel L. Quezon University in 1971, will also actually join the Philippines’ official representative, 2018 Dinagang Festival grand winner Tribu Panayanon of Iloilo City National High School, in the celebration for the Filipino American community held every year at Madison Avenue.
In New York, Mr. Vego is expected to meet and interview philanthropist Loida Nicolas Lewis, the Parade’s chief supporter and the most influential leader, among other celebrities, in the Filipino American community.
Mr. Vego, who hails from San Pedro, Antique, is one of the only few living, most active and highly respected Ilonggo journalists today who emerged unscathed from the dark years of Martial Law in the 70s.

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He is also expected to reunite and interview New York-based Filipino president of the World Youth Alliance (WYA), Lord Leomer Pomperada, 26, son of Vego’s friend, Merlyn Bayombong, of San Jose, Antique.
More importantly, Mr. Vego will finally have a chance to embrace his only son, Norberto, a nurse, who has been based in upstate New York, after a long time.
Tribu Panayanon has received invitations to join the parade from the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) through past president Joji Jalandoni, who graced the 2018 Dinagyang Festival together with liaison officer Jay Balnig in January.
Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III, Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, Inc. (IDFI) chairperson Ramon Cua Locsin and City Tourism Office chief Junel Ann Divinagracia are expected to spearhead the Dinagyang entourage.
The tribe was expected to hurdle financial difficulties that nearly stymied its participation in the 2018 Aliwan Fiesta in Manila, an annual competition of the country’s best festivals, from April 26 until 28.

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SERENO AND THE ILONGGO LAWYERS. On-leave Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, who has been busy attending graduation ceremonies all over the country, was recently seen in several photo-ops with prominent personalities in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Iloilo Chapter.
She seemed to be “at home” with her companeros and companeras in that part of the country.
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) national president Abdiel Dan Fajardo, incidentally, is an Ilonggo who has been consistently calling for independence among government branches and the respect for law in the country.
Fajardo urged President Rodrigo Duterte and other public officials in September last year to not be “onion-skinned” as “a government official holds his life open to public scrutiny.”
Fajardo has been standing firm that the Supreme Court en banc has no jurisdiction over the integrity issue of a chief justice even as he echoed the assertion of Sereno's camp that the correct way to remove a sitting chief justice is through the process of impeachment.

Herbert Vego’s pain

“During my days of deepest grief, in all of my shock, sorrow and struggle, I sat at the feet of God. I literally spent hours each day reading God's word, meditating on scripture and praying. I intentionally spent a significant amount of time being still before God.”
--Rick Warren

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Only a handful of people know the weight being carried nowadays by our senior media colleague, Mr. Herbert Vego, inside his heart and mind.
I learned about this “weight” buried deep inside Mr. Vego’s heart and mind when I was in New Jersey in January this year.
Some of our friends, who have seen Mr. Vego these past weeks, may have noticed something unusual in the way he speaks and the sadness that illuminates in his 68-year-old face.
It is the kind of grief we normally see in the face of a moribund man; the kind of melancholy that can only be washed away by Divine Intervention.

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Thus, the punches Mr. Vego absorbed on the face when he was attacked by barangay captain Sumakwel Nava in the coffee shop of Hotel del Rio in Iloilo City on March 7 were peanuts compared to the real pain he has been concealing in his heart and mind these past two months.
Mr. Vego would probably be willing to take more of those punches and other physical “punishments” if they could only solve and instantly expunge the real thorn that has been tormenting his heart and mind since January this year.
If you will know what this problem is, you will probably embrace Mr. Vego instead of hurting him physically.

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I would like to share this letter to Mr. Herbert Vego entitled “Daddy” by Mindy Pfankuch Pfankuch

Daddy,

You were one of the first I laid eyes on when I came into this world
I didn't know you at first but you were my daddy and later to become my hero
You were one of the first I loved
I chose you over my pink stuffed bear
I loved how you'd pick my up and hug me I'd feel so secure
You'd lift me with one arm way above your head and play helicopter
As I started to grow you taught me to stand and walk
You'd guide me so carefully so I wouldn't fall
Once I began to walk on my own you stood close by just in case I fell down
If I did you'd pick me up -
Wipe the tears off my face and kiss my pain away
Once I got older I didn't need your help walking but I needed your love and time
We'd play basketball, if I couldn't reach the basket you'd lift me up so I could -
Making me feel like I was number one
You taught me how to shoot a gun and to not be afraid
You always helped me find a car in my price range that I liked
You showed me how to change the oil in my car,
I'm the only one of my friends that knows how, which make me feel smart
You'd do almost anything to see me happy
You always encourage me to try my best, and support me one hundred and ten percent
I've come to realize that I'm a lot like you
You help me realize common sense isn't that common
You also taught me to be witty
I follow in your steps of being a smart aleck
You taught me how to deal with people and how to get what I want
And when ever some one says:
You're just like your dad I can't help but smile and be proud
You're not only my dad but you're my hero
Dad even though I'm growing up I still need your loving bear hugs,
And encouraging words of wisdom
Don't forget I will always be your little baby girl
And you will always be my loving father and hero
I love you dad!

Love always Mindy