This Fellowship Reminded Me Why I Chose Journalism

by Sanaf Marcelo

Editor’s Note: Sanaf is ICSC’s Senior Communications Officer for Media and Events, who also served as project lead for the latest run of the Jaime Espina Klima Correspondents Fellowship which concluded in March 2025. Prior to joining ICSC, Sanaf worked as a journalist and media practitioner with experience spanning radio, mainstream, and alternative media.

Leading the Jaime Espina Klima Correspondents Fellowship has not only brought me closer to the work I once did, it has reminded me why I chose journalism in the first place. As someone who spent years chasing stories from the ground, I know what it means to search for truth and amplify the voices of the community with limited resources but fulfilling. Now, I find myself on the other side, as part of the team providing support and space for journalists to tell the stories that matter.

It was six years ago, during the Freedom Festival Jam held in celebration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3. I remember it so clearly, the music, the crowd, the calls for press freedom. That was the first time I met Sir Nonoy Espina in person. He had this fire in him. He also sang his original composition, “All That I Ask.” I didn’t expect that from a journalist. But that’s who Sir Nonoy was, creative, and wholehearted.

That night, he was also given the Gawad Marcelo H. Del Pilar, the highest award given by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) to its alumni, a well-deserved honor. Since then, I would often see him in different mobilizations and events from the small gatherings and meetings to the commemoration of the Ampatuan massacre to the events to call to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise. He was always there, vocal, and fierce.

Fast forward to today. I used to just listen to the sharing of my previous colleagues’ learnings from their time as fellows in the inaugural Jaime Espina Klima Correspondents Fellowship. I remember thinking how beneficial the program is in supporting us community journalists to tell untold stories from the frontlines of climate and energy.

But now, I didn’t just get to hear about it because I had the chance and the honor to help lead it. For me, the fellowship is not just a project. It’s a platform built on values that resonate deeply with our journey, community, courage, and storytelling with integrity. Named after Sir Nonoy Espina, a journalist who truly lived by those very principles and values. The fellowship is both a tribute and a call to action. 

Hearing the stories produced by Klima fellows during the culmination event last March felt like being brought into the communities. As their stories are rooted in lived experience, shaped by local knowledge, and driven by purpose. They reminded me of the kind of journalism that moves people. That shifts perspectives. That builds bridges.

From remote communities fighting for energy justice to reporters uncovering the intersection of changing climate and inequality, the narratives brought forth this year were powerful and personal. They were the kind of stories Sir Nonoy always championed, grounded, bold, and necessary.

During the culmination last March 25, it felt like a reunion. Many of the current and inaugural Klima fellows were people I had worked with before on stories, coverage, and campaigns. Journalists I’ve marched with, written beside, and fought for press freedom with. That moment reminded me that journalism is not a solitary path. It’s a shared journey. A shared calling. It is sustained by collectives, the community, and the people we serve.

In many ways, the Jaime Espina Klima Correspondents Fellowship is more than a program. It’s a living, growing tribute to Sir Nonoy who showed us what it meant to speak truth with heart. Through this work, we carry forward not just his name but his conviction that stories from the margins deserve to be at the center.

And so we continue. We listen. We support. We create space. Because in every fellow who dares to tell an untold story, Sir Nonoy’s spirit lives on.