By Cyrus A. Natividad

PNA Antique Bureau Chief Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay.

Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay, CPU AB English 1990, Bureau Chief, Philippine News Agency (PNA), Antique Bureau was the Resource Speaker at the 5th Leadership and Journalism Training for Campus Writers held at the University of Antique on October 22 to 23, 2021 – in cooperation with The PRISM, official student publication of the University of Antique. The training was an initiative to equip campus writers with leadership and skills necessary in running campus papers. It was participated by campus writers from different Universities and Colleges nationwide on virtual platform.

Petinglay who has been with Philippine News Agency and other publications in Panay and Guimaras talked on the topic: Getting News Sources During Pandemic. Her experience as a former campus writer and news writer provided adequate knowledge to the participants, and with which Petinglay said, “can teach them to identify the right sources of news; what type of questions are needed to be asked during interviews.”

Petinglay in her lecture made mention of the “focused journalism and writing skills training” she learned from Central Philippine University. She said “as a campus writer during that time, I envisioned myself as a journalist in the future. We had to bear all difficulties and hardships in news and information gathering and publish it in a tedious process. We had no retrieval and uploading of news at that time, without the modern computer.” Petinglay was the staff writer of the Voice Prints student publication and a student representative during her college days. She recalled, “At the old Rose Memorial Hall, we laid out our headlines and pages on Manila paper with black pentel pens. She added that “It’s kind of sacrifice when you just take your meal later, but assuring yourself that – we have a future here.”

She was indeed rewarded. Right after her graduation from CPU, Petinglay was immediately hired to write for the Manila Times. Later on she catered news for Daily Informer and other local dailies. She worked for more than 25 years and later on promoted as Bureau Chief of the Philippine News agency.

Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay is the wife of Antique Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office Chief, Pastor Larry Petinglay, also a devout Centralian. His office is under the Provincial Government of Antique.