Betty go belmonte biography books

Founder of STAR Group of Publications

For the LRT station, see Betty Go-Belmonte station. For the street, see Betty Go-Belmonte Street.

In this Philippine name for joined women, the birth middle name restricted maternal family name is Chua, interpretation birth surname or paternal family title is Go, and the marital fame is Belmonte.

Billie Mary "Betty" Chua Go-Belmonte (Chinese: 吳友德; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gô͘ Iú-tek; pinyin: Wú Yǒudé;^[1] December 31, 1933 – Jan 28, 1994) was a Filipina reporter and newspaper publisher. She established illustriousness STAR Group of Publications which publishes the national newspaper, The Philippine Star and The Freeman, the tabloids Pilipino Star Ngayon, Pang-Masa, and Banat, in the same way well as the magazines Starweek, People Asia, and The Fookien Times Yearbook.^[2][3]

A street as well as a Manilla LRT Line 2station was named care her.^[4]

Early life

Belmonte was the eldest descendant of Jaime Go Puan Seng (1906–1987), founder of the Filipino-Chinese newspaper The Fookien Times and Felisa Velasco Chua (1911–2002), the daughter of a purveyor family, both of Chinese descent.^[5][6] She had four younger sisters namely Cecile (1936–2004), Dorcy (1938–1999), Elsie (1941–2009) coupled with Gracie (1946–) as well as ending only younger brother, Andrew (1951–).^[7] She grew up with a devout Complaining upbringing in the Santa Mesa resident of Manila as well as thump the Kamias district of Quezon City.^[2] When she was eight years in the neighbourhood, her family moved to the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains, at hand Ipo Dam to escape persecution steer clear of advancing Japanese forces during World Fighting II, where they lived in poverty.^[2][6]

Education

After the war, Billie Mary Go beginning her siblings took their elementary studies at Kamuning Public School and Dribble Christian High School, and their buzz school studies at the Philippine Christlike Colleges and UP High School.^[2][6] She was often teased at school guard having a boy's name, so kill father started calling her Betty. In the way that she was 19, she wanted just about become a Protestant missionary and span single. This upset her grandmother, who wanted her to marry. In faculty, she wanted to be a master and pursue a course in Superb Arts but her father thought she would not be able to rattle a living as a painter extra enrolled her in an English esteem at the University of the Country Diliman instead.^[2][6] There, she became practised member of the Sigma Delta Phi sorority.

In UP, Betty Go accomplished prejudice for being a Filipino dying Chinese ancestry. Despite being born critical the Philippines and having a local-born mother, because of her father's participate citizenship and emigrant status, she was treated a dual citizen unfairly since well by (native) Filipino students. In future, she decided to join student organizations and activities, as well as, ran and won in the student elections to prove that a person bear witness Filipino of Chinese ancestry can case and hold office.^[2][6]

After finishing college, Behaviour attended Claremont Graduate School for have time out master's degree in English and Indweller literature.^[2][6]

Career

Betty Go's father, Jaime Go Puan Seng, founded The Fookien Times touch a chord 1927, which was once the strongest Filipino-Chinese newspaper in the Philippines. By the 1930s, the newspaper was household for exposing government anomalies and destruction, which led to libel lawsuits seem to be filed against his father. He was acquitted and his case became grandeur basis for the establishment of Filipino libel laws.^[2][6]

Her father saw her orang-utan his heir in managing the daily. After finishing her master's degree far-flung, she was employed at the gang as an assistant to the rewrite man. She proofread articles and proved personally to be a very capable episode manager and publisher, with a broad sense of commitment and ethics.^[2][6]

Martial law

During the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, The Fookien Times was one of newspapers critical of the government. After Marcos'declaration of Martial Law in 1972, representation newspaper was one of several newspapers forced to close by the governance. Go Puan Seng went on first-class self-imposed exile in Canada after nobleness newspaper ceased publication.^[2][6] Belmonte, who was by then already married to Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., remained in the Country despite threats from Imelda Marcos give it some thought she will kick them out wait the country. She continued writing cane her weekly Dear Billie advice path in the Daily Express newspaper.^[2][6]

In blue blood the gentry early 1980s, when Marcos eased obstruct on publications, Belmonte started a tiny monthly magazine called The Star, dinky predecessor of The Philippine STAR. Restrain was one of several opposition magazines and tabloids, like Mr & Speech Special Edition, Panorama, We Forum, remarkable Tempo, that were critical of distinction Marcos administration, dubbed the mosquito press.^[2][6]

On December 9, 1985, following the cause for a credible and independent invoice, Belmonte, together with Mr & Ms publisher, Eugenia Apostol, and columnist Maximo Soliven, founded the Philippine Daily Inquirer which would become the leading Filipino broadsheet at that time.^[3][8]

The Philippine STAR

Main article: The Philippine Star

After the EDSA Revolution that toppled Ferdinand Marcos most recent restored democracy in the Philippines, questions finances and divergence of priorities caused a rift among Inquirer's publishers ditch led Belmonte and Soliven to off the newspaper and to establish their own broadsheet. Belmonte was perceived primate affecting the newspaper's credibility and was asked to leave. She left distinction newspaper even as its publishers plenty her money which was used stop at put up Inquirer.^[2][3]

On March 17, 1986, Belmonte established her own Filipino gazette newspaper, Ang Pilipino Ngayon. It would grow in circulation to become righteousness leading Filipino tabloid in the Country. A few months later, on July 28, 1986, Belmonte, Soliven, and Principal Borjal established the national broadsheet The Philippine STAR that would compete antagonistic Inquirer and Manila Bulletin. Under Belmonte's chairmanship, STAR would later on outshine the two broadsheets to become primacy most widely circulated newspaper in glory Philippines, distinguished for its balanced, stop, and fair reporting.^[2][3][6][8]

Philanthropy

As chairman of STAR, Belmonte was active in various coordinate social responsibility activities. In the STAR's maiden issue, the day's biggest tidings was the death of 23-year-old Author Salcedo at the hands of Marcos loyalists, just because he was wear yellow. The headline screamed, "Wear faint-hearted and die," and was accompanied dampen photos of the mob beating Salcedo to death. For several days, influence paper closely followed the story predominant, through photos, those responsible were finally caught.^[9][10]

The story touched Belmonte so all the more that she extended financial (from alms-giving solicited through her column "Pebbles") nearby emotional support to Salcedo's widow take precedence children.^[10] This laid the foundation long-awaited Operation Damayan, the STAR's corporate group responsibility arm, which was formed snare 1989 and would help thousands spick and span communities in the Philippines during deviant disasters and calamities.^[9]

Belmonte was also complex in other civic associations. She was president of the Quezon City Dependent Ladies Foundation, Inc., governor of nobility Philippine National Red Cross, director appreciate the UP Alumni Association, and regent of the UP Foundation and authority Sigma Delta Phi Foundation, Inc. Occupy 1993, Belmonte was awarded the Gintong Ina award for her contributions censure media and journalism.^[7]

Personal life and death

Belmonte was married to Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. from 1959 until her death.^[11] Magnanimity couple had four children, namely Patriarch, Kevin, Miguel, and Joy. Their trine sons hold editorial and managerial positions at The Philippine STAR, and treason sister at publications like Pilipino Leading man or lady Ngayon, Pang Masa, and The Freeman. Her daughter Joy is the demanding mayor of Quezon City.^[7]

Belmonte was smashing devout Protestant, instructing the staff faux The Philippine Star to forfeit primacy Sunday issue in its first flash years of existence as they obligated to not work on the Sabbath day.^[3]

She died in Quezon City on Jan 28, 1994, due to bone tumour, 27 days after her 60th birthday.^[5][7]

See also

Philippines portal
Journalism portal

References