MANILA, Philippines – Seven campus journalists chosen for this yr’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship accomplished an intensive onsite coaching program on the Rappler newsroom from August 5 to eight, 2026.
The onsite coaching, which is a vital part of this system, goals to strengthen the fellows’ data and expertise in public curiosity reporting, with a specific emphasis on recognizing corruption and local-level accountability.
For this yr’s cohort, the coaching periods coated crucial areas similar to area people reporting, the finances course of, recognizing corruption crimson flags, and digital safety, alongside technical expertise in information journalism, accountable and environment friendly use of AI for analysis, habitable cities and group engagement, vertical video creation, and long-form writing.
Making use of new instruments, learnings
In the course of the coaching, the transition from reporting inside campus borders to tackling advanced public-interest points marked a elementary shift for the fellows.
“We’re normally branded as campus journalists and identified to solely write tales on campus. However with the coaching, I spotted that we’re scholar journalists able to writing in regards to the plight of the folks. We will accomplish that way more,” stated Ahyenne Estancio of Pampanga, who reported about Angeles Metropolis’s recurring water woes beneath PrimeWater throughout her first month as a fellow.
After the coaching periods, she gained a deeper understanding of the finances course of and recognizing crimson flags in public paperwork, amongst others.
For Lance Bustos of Laguna, who wrote about Santa Rosa Metropolis’s heritage preservation efforts, studying extra in regards to the “Rappler remedy” of reporting turned his spotlight.
“I used to be used to the normal method to reporting. On this coaching, we have been launched to Rappler’s method or remedy to journalism — studying not solely to function watchdogs, but in addition to attach with the group,” Bustos stated.
He additionally appreciated the coaching’s method to AI, noting that whereas many establishments prohibit its use, the expertise can nonetheless be beneficial for duties similar to information visualization and vibe coding, offered that the data stays correct.
Storytelling and group engagement
The coaching additionally emphasised the intersection of rigorous analysis and human-centered storytelling.
Axel John Cainglet of Cavite had already been digging into advanced provincial points, together with a reclamation venture impacting Bacoor’s “tahong” (mussel) harvests, Noveleta’s conventional salt-making trade, and ₱5 billion in DPWH contracts linked to the Revilla household.
“Earlier than the fellowship, tingin ko sobrang tapang ko na, however on this weeklong coaching, I spotted puwede pang tapangan ‘yung pagsulat (I believed I used to be already very daring, however throughout this weeklong coaching, I spotted that I might be even bolder in my writing),” Cainglet shared.
Cainglet additionally pressured the significance of group engagement in his tales. “It shouldn’t be only a one-way course of. After the tales are written, they need to create an influence for the folks they’re written for. The group we write about can also be related to us.”
This deep group connection was echoed by Mark David Silencio of Bulacan, who wrote in regards to the kangkong farmers struggling alongside rising floodwalls throughout his first month in this system.
“In occasions like this, our communities want us most. We’re not meant to be extractive, however to attach and have interaction with them even after the story is printed,” Silencio stated.
Discovering help and goal
In the meantime, for Caloocan Metropolis-based fellow Eunicito Barreno, the coaching reframed his perspective about his hometown. Initially discouraged by Caloocan’s troubled fame and affiliation with political dynasties, extrajudicial killings, and the drug struggle — for which town has change into for him, the “worst of the worst” — Barreno realized these challenges knowledgeable his goal.
“I’ve each love and hate for Caloocan due to its points however the coaching and my fellowship expertise to date taught me that I’ve a job in telling the tales of Caloocan,” Barreno stated.
Throughout his first month, Barreno leveraged his native ties, reporting about native grievances over what Caloocan residents describe as a “ineffective” drainage venture. He additionally amplified the story of the Caloocan furnishings makers striving to maintain their craft.
The onsite coaching offered important house for camaraderie and help amongst fellows, too.
“Because the very first evening, I spotted that listening to my co-fellows share tales about their work [as journalists] made me really feel like I wasn’t misplaced. From the second I arrived from the island, in a spot I wasn’t conversant in, I felt at dwelling,” Vic Bagaan, a fellow who traveled from Palawan, stated in a mixture of English and Filipino. Throughout his first month, Bagaan wrote in regards to the college students nonetheless displaced by the 2024 Quito hearth.
For Jennifer Jezreel Kaye Pading of Japanese Visayas, the fellowship was a chance not solely to strengthen her journalism expertise, but in addition an opportunity to increase the help she acquired to her sphere of affect.
Impressed by two former campus journalists from her college who beforehand joined the fellowship, Pading is dedicated to sustaining this cycle of mentorship and studying.
Problem as they proceed
In the course of the four-day coaching, Rappler additionally hosted a fellowship evening the place the 2026 Fellows had the chance to community with Rappler reporters, editors, and alumni fellows.
Amid the challenges dealing with journalism right this moment, Rappler CEO and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa spoke to the fellows about the way forward for the occupation and inspired them to proceed on the journey.
“Whereas there’s loads of alternative, there are additionally loads of challenges within the media trade and we is not going to take it towards you should you take a distinct path, however we might admire it a lot should you proceed to pursue journalism,” she instructed the fellows.
In the meantime, Rappler’s government editor Glenda Gloria challenged the fellows as they proceed their fellowship program once they head dwelling.
“Since you are Aries Rufo Journalism Fellows, you carry the identify of Aries, who, as a journalist, most popular to pay attention, ask, and by no means assume. You additionally carry the identify of Rappler. Take delight in it however be accountable,” Gloria stated.
“You’re going again to the sector…Keep in mind that you’re not solely a storyteller, however extra importantly a fact teller,” she added.
Gloria concluded with a definition of the craft that can information the fellows: “Journalism, as we all know it’s the self-discipline of verification however journalism can also be discovering pleasure in discovery. What do you uncover once you do journalism? You don’t simply uncover the wrongdoings of others, you uncover expertise, braveness, and character you by no means thought you had.”
As a closing requirement, fellows will produce a long-form story, both investigative or in-depth, targeted on accountability and the use — or misuse — of public sources of their communities. On-line periods earlier than and after the onsite coaching coated journalism foundations, the media panorama, primary analysis, moral requirements of journalism, fact-checking methodology, and story distribution.
The Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship, now on its sixth cycle since its launch in 2021, is a four-month collaborative initiative between Rappler and the Journalism for Nation Constructing Basis (JNBF). The present cycle, supported by the Friedrich Naumann Basis for Freedom (FNF) Philippines, runs till November 2026. – Rappler.com
