8 PHILIPPINE TRIBUNE www.thephilippinetribune.com August 6-12, 2020

By: Dolly Anne CarvajalCES Drilon and I fondly call each other “VS” (V sister) because our friendship blos-somed when we were part of the award-winning play, “The Vagina Monologues.” Aside from being a friend, I am her fan, as well. I will miss her perky presence on free TV. After the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN was unduly de-nied, Ces lost her job in the network, which was her home Please turn to page 11

since 1989. The veteran broad-cast journalist’s shows and newscasts through the years included “Usapang Business,” “Pipol,” “I Survived,” “The World Tonight” (as business anchor), “Insider,” “Business Nightly,” “Pointblank,” “Get Real,” “The Rundown” and “Bandila.” Despite the loss, Cess is not one who would sulk and wallow. She always looks at life straight in the eye and is

dressed for the part. After sur-viving an abduction, the won-der woman in her can survive anything. It’s not the end for my ever fab VS. It’s just a pause before another fresh start. Take a bow for a job well done—and well-dressed, at that! C’est la “Zest” de Ces.Here’s my chat with Ces:What was the highlight of your stint in ABS-CBN? The highlight was being

a field reporter, being able to visit the far reaches of the country, covering conflict, try-ing to make sense of the root causes of what ails the country, scoring scoops and exclusives, and meeting people from the corridors of power to the most downtrodden.What’s the most important lesson you learned during your ABS-CBN days? It has always been this: A setback can be turned into an opportunity, that losses may lead to far better things. I have mourned the loss of many shows, which were career set-backs at the time. My first show “Usapang Business” was canceled be-cause of the Asian financial crisis. I was heartbroken, but then I had a new show “Pipol” to replace it. When “The World Tonight” ended on Channel 2, I was very fearful about the fu-ture. Then, I did the talk show “Pointblank” on ANC and the business show “Business Nightly.” I lost my bid to be an anchor of “TV Patrol.” But then I got a management position and a stint to build a website, ANCX, which I am very proud of.What was your most memo-rable interview? The most memorable inter-view was one that didn’t hap-pen. I was supposed to inter-view the purported new leader of the Abu Sayyaf, Radulan Sahiron, but was abducted in-

stead, together with my team. It was the most difficult experi-ence of my life. I thought I was going to die.Tell us a bit about your “SONAgkaisa” rally experi-ence. I wanted to speak about the threats to press freedom. I had long been wanting to speak out aside from my posts on Twitter and since I am about to become a free agent, I thought it was the right time, because I could speak freely without affecting ABS-CBN. I was so anxious about it though because there would be no turning back. I knew that it was a major step I was about to make. I woke up at 4 a.m. that day and the following day. My dateline was so high.What’s your personal mantra as you face the new normal?Embrace the unknown and un-certainty. Stand firm on your principles. Pivot and adapt. Resilience is the name of the game.What’s next on your agenda? Last year, I got into e-commerce with my own line of computer eyewear. Seren-dipitously, it has become an es-sential in these times of being hyper online. So I plan to focus more on it. I also want to con-tinue telling stories, even if I no longer am on ABS-CBN. The digital world beckons. I was fortunate to have left “Bandila” in 2017 to go into the digital realm. I was able to say