Roberto “Butch” Galicia: A colleague in Canadian press

By Satur P. Apoyon

DAVAO CITY, April 29 — Unknown to many of our fellow Mindanaoan scribes, one of our kind is now making a name for himself in the Canadian press. He is Roberto Galicia, popularly called Butch among friends and in his family circle back home in the Philippines especially Cotabato City and Manila.

In his PDF copy emailed to me last April 26, 20l0, his monthly community newspaper is called “Libreto”. My best friend stands as publisher-editor. A partnership venture, Libreto is published in Toronto, Canada for its Filipino community in that snow country.

“I am now on my seventh edition, Butch partly said in his nostalgic email.

The April 2010 issue carried, among others, a postponed concert of Superstar Nora Aunor in Toronto to the last week of May 2010. Libreto also carried PNA items. “Including a couple of your feature articles in earlier editions,” Butch told me.

Butch and I became close friends and colleagues when both of us were manning the bureau offices of the Philippines News Agency (PNA) in Mindanao — he in Cotabato City and me in Davao City — in the l980s.

One of our joint coverages was the hot pursuit of the 37 bank robbers from Lanao del Sur who raided four banks in Digos, Davao del Sur on December 16, 1981 and the visit of Camp Abubakar of the then fledgling Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Matanog at the border of Parang, Maguindanao on May 9, 1986.

As co-PNAer, our bonding was further galvanized in occasional provincial bureau chiefs’ conference in the central desk if not in the mother bureau agency – News and Information Bureau at the Malacanang Palace premises.

Before moving to Canada a few years back, Butch had served the Manila PNA central desk and other government media outfit in the national capital. He even filled my PNA vacated slot in Davao City after retiring in mid-2001 for a couple of months. Since that brief sojourn here, Butch and I had lost contact until recently. (PNA)

The RYLTI connection:

A pleasant day to you Mr. Apoyon.

I’ve known Mr. Galicia or Kuya Butch wayback in 1980. We both attended the YMCA RYLTI in Silliman University, Dumaguete City in 1980. That was a very long time ago, but he left a very strong impression on me as a man of principle and dignity.

I’d like to get in touch with Kuya Butch. Can you help me?

Thank you.

Eleonor "Elen" Arce Andres on May 6th, 2010

http://balita.ph/2010/04/29/roberto-butch-galicia-a-colleague-in-canadian-press-feature/