Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and PressOne.PH editor Manny Mogato unveiled his first book, “It’s Me Bok!” an autobiography featuring his four-decade experience in the field, on Oct. 19 at the Cignal TV Launch Pad Building in Mandaluyong.
In the book’s 19 chapters, Mogato recounts his 41 years of covering major events, including the 2017 Marawi Siege, the 2013 super typhoon “Yolanda,” and the 1991 Pinatubo eruption, among others.
While not all good stories, these experiences could help budding reporters, Mogato said.
“Sana ‘yong future journalists, especially students, will learn from my experiences,” he said during the book launch attended by veteran journalists including TV5’s Ed Lingao and Vergel Santos.
“Tignan nila kung ano ‘yong dapat at [hindi dapat] tularan sa mga kabulastugan ko,” he added. “I wrote these episodes to show na ito ang dapat at hindi dapat tularan, and [they should] learn from these experiences para mapaganda ang [kanilang] career.”
The book’s title takes a page from the nickname used for him by fellow journalists: “Bok.” He began working on the book in early 2023, spurred by a desire to share his experiences as a seasoned journalist.
“Sayang naman kung ‘di ko maikuwento ‘yong mga experience ko kasi maraming embarrassing, hindi maganda, marami ring maganda,” he said in an earlier interview. “Ako ‘yong journalist na inabot ang transition from typewriter to computers—-everything, nadaanan ko ‘yan.”
Mogato began his career in print at tabloid People’s Journal, where he served as a police and crime reporter from 1983 to 1985. He moved to broadsheet Manila Times just before the EDSA Revolution.
He reported on defense and military for the now-defunct Manila Chronicle during the turbulent years of the Corazon Aquino presidency. In 1994, he joined Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese daily, and returned there after a brief stint as assistant news editor at the Manila Times.
Mogato received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2018 while working with wire agency Reuters, alongside co-reporters Clare Baldwin and Andrew Marshall, for their coverage of Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
The first 300 copies of “It’s Me, Bok!” sold out quickly, and Mogato expressed plans to release a sequel, delving deeper into the snippets shared in the first edition.
“Well, 40 years na ako sa journalism so na-remember ko lang ‘yong mga episode na tumatak sa career ko. Kaya, karamihan dyan, ‘yong mga na-remember ko—mga embarrassing moment, mga scary moment, mga near-death—‘yong talagang hindi mo makakalimutan,” he said.
“Nagulat nga ako e kasi hindi ko akalain na that would be the reception,” he added. “Siguro, interested sila makita kung ano ‘yong mga pinagdaanan ko.”
Mogato regularly writes his column, “In the Trenches,” for PressOne.PH, focusing on international relations, defense, and political issues.
He also writes opinion pieces for News 5 and serves as the defense and security editor of ONE News. In addition, he teaches journalism at the University of Santo Tomas. Logan Zapanta
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