DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 16 May)—MindaNews reporter and fact-checker Ian Carl Espinosa is among 10 chosen journalists from all over the country to be awarded with a grant in the Strengthening Transparency in Infrastructure Development through Environmental Reporting in Southeast Asia (STRIDES).
Espinosa joins nine other journalists who successfully pitched their stories for a grant to develop outputs on infrastructure and its effects on the environment.
Joining Espinosa are Alliah Babila of Bicol.ph, Nico Delfin of Digicast Negros, Eden Cidro of Este News, Sherwin de Vera of Northern Dispatch, Marlon Luistro of The Filipino Connection, Geraldford Ticke of Palawan News, Marco Romas (a freelance journalist), Annie Perez of ABS-CBN, and Frank Cimatu of Mountain Beacon.
This initiative is a collaboration between Lyf Solutions, Inc., FYT and the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists (PNEJ), with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN).
Espinosa will be writing about the environmental impact of the proposed Samal Island-Davao Connector (SIDC) Bridge, which has begun initial construction on both sides of the bridge.
Espinosa said his story would focus on the environmental impact and the immediate effects of the construction towards residents near the area.
Part of the story will be the examination of possible air quality impact and an examination of waste-management along the bridge.
The 10 grant recipients were from among 20 journalists that joined a workshop in April in Indang, Cavite.
The two-day training held in Cerca Balustre, a farm resort developed by journalists, covered various topics on in-depth story writing, investigative journalism techniques, video production, and environmental reporting guidelines. (MindaNews)
