Notes on Cebu Press Freedom Song
Notes on Cebu Press Freedom Song
Trio led by Eva Santos recording the song in 2004
[] Originally a 30-second jingle, the Cebu Press Freedom Song was recorded on tape by a trio led by Cebuana singer Eva Santos and launched during the 2004 Cebu Press Freedom Week Each of the two videos stretched to more than a minute.
Composer Paul Melendez
[] Music: Paul Melendez.
Words: Paul Melendez, Pachico A. Seares
[] CPFS, Video 1: concept and production by Januar Yap
CPFS Video 2 (2024): concept by Pachico A. Seares, produced and edited by Zaldy E. Pasolohan.
Paul Melendez , best known for “Make It Cebu” and the rousing hym “Mabuhi Ka Cebu,” which the Cebu Capitol uses as the martial-sound theme song of the governor. Businessman Rod Ngo contracted Paul for the Cebu Press Freedom Song, with the Eva Santos recording launched in 2004.
Januar E. Yap is asst. professor of media studies and literature in U.P. Cebu’s College of Communication Art and Design. He wrote and edited for SunStar Cebu and five-time winner in Cebuano fiction category of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature. He also received awards In the documentary category of the Sinulog Short Films Festivals, including a Gawad Urian nomination for Best Screenplay. His film “Sibuyas ni Perfecto,” which Yap wrote and directed, won as Best Short Film in 2023 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. A member of PEN and Bathalad, a literary organization in the Visayas. [Main surce: U.P. Cebu College of Communication, Art and Design)
Rizaldy E. Pasolohan — born in Malabon, Metro Manila to a mom who’s a native of Oslob, Cebu — was educated by his uncle in Cagayan de Oro. First worked at the public information office of Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol. He has had training and experience as IT specialist, radio drama recording editor, video editor graphic artist and live-broadcast technical director. Which Rizaldy has tapped for his current work at the Cebu City Hall public information office. “My fortune and honor to have worked with Cebu media, particularly with Atty. Seares, in this second video of Cebu Press Freedom Song,” Rizaldy wrote.