The Ilocos Times

The Ilocos Times marks this month its 63rd Anniversary as a bastion of the free press in Northern Philippines. Community newspapers here and elsewhere have come and gone but this paper has endured the test of time, and while it ceased printing for a couple of months at the height of the quarantine, it continued to serve the public through its Facebook Page, website, and blog. On this occasion, I remember with gratitude and affection my dear friend Steve Barreiro who risked life and limb with his exposés and scathing commentaries. The man behind  “ In and Out”  always fought for what was just and right . Ironically justice continues to elude him for the murder that sent him out of this temporal world and into the Great Beyond. Out too early, Steve lingers in the minds and hearts of fans, and that includes me at the forefront. We all miss his spunk. Then there’s Michael Esmino, the brilliant managing editor who is the paper’s journalistic mind silently working in the background. A r