PCP mourns the passing of Nonoy Espina

Photo: Basilio H. Sepe/PCP

The Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines (PCP) deeply mourns the passing of Jose Jaime ‘Nonoy’ Espina, veteran journalist and former chairperson of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). He passed away on Wednesday evening, July 7, 2021. He was 59.

Nonoy is best remembered by colleagues as the fiercest advocate for freedom of the press and the welfare of media workers in the country. A founding member of NUJP, he led the fight for justice for victims of the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre, the deadliest single attack on journalists in the world which killed 32 media workers. During his chairmanship, he led the NUJP at the forefront of the fight against attacks on the media — the constant red-tagging of journalists, the closure order on news website Rappler, and most notably when Congress voted to shut down ABS-CBN network — which inevitably put him in the crosshairs of state propagandists. Colleagues and friends are perpetually inspired by his courageous journalism and advocacies for a free and thriving press.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.

“The press is free not because it is allowed to be free. It is free because it insists on being free.” - Nonoy Espina