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Sunstar Pangasinan closes

DAGUPAN CITY (May 6) — As hundreds of media practitioners gathered on May 3 to commemorate International Press Freedom Day, employees of Sunstar Pangasinan mourn as temporary closure awaits the newspaper on May 15.

The closure which circu-lated among local media groups early this year materialized when the Sunstar Board of Directors (BOD) released a termination memorandum on March 24. Members of the newspaper are yet to receive their separation pay as indicated in the memorandum.

Philip Soria, its manager, lamented that the paper had met a downturn in circulation recently but this he said, wasn’t the main cause for the shut down.

“It was not mismanaged. We intended to solve the problem by suggesting to the BOD to allow us to open satellite offices in key areas in the province at minimal cost,” he said

“We only need to tap businessmen to give us space in their offices for efficient expansion that is projected to augment the circulation to 5,000 copies daily, with 4 key cities and nearby towns penetrated,” he added.

The proposal was however turned down due to financial constraints stemming from a downtrend among local businesses, Soria said.

But the closure, he said was only temporary as the BOD is planning to reestablish the paper in Urdaneta City.

“We had the expertise and sources to sustain our operations,” he said, adding that the ailing economy was a big factor.

Around 15 of its correspondents and administrative staff would lose their job at the only daily newspaper in Region I. # Jong dela Cruz for NORDIS

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