Seasoned Negrense journalist and Digicast Negros editor Carla P. Gomez is among eight recipients of the 2025 Outstanding Sillimanian Award, the highest honor given by Silliman University to its alumni in an awards ceremony during the University’s 124th Founders Day, held at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium in Dumaguete City, Thursday, August 28.
Gomez who has built a career in community journalism spanning more than four decades was cited for her “unwavering dedication to truth-telling and nation-building through over four decades and ethical and compassionate journalism. The citation also states she has become a “leading voice” in Philippine community journalism, and her leadership at the Visayan Daily Star and now with Digicast Negros “has shaped local journalism in the region, sustaining its relevance even in challenging times.”
Gomez, who is from Bacolod City, graduated from Silliman University High School in 1978 and earned her Bachelor of Mass Communication degree in 1982. She also obtained a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona in the United States in 1986.
Gomez worked for the Visayan Daily Star for 36 years, rising from reporter to editor, and as correspondent for international wire agencies. She joined Digicast Negros in 2020 as editor of its daily online newsletter and continues to also write for the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The citation described Gomez as a “trusted chronicler of community life, and in both word and witness, she upholds the Silliman spirit of public service, ethical reporting and transformative storytelling. She lives out the University’s motto: Via, Veritas, Vita – The Way, The Truth, and The Life.”
Other awardees include Dr. Rolando O. Borrinaga, a cultural historian whose research on the Balangiga Conflict of 1901 helped secure the return of the Balangiga Bells in 2018, and Dr. Rose Mila A. Cipres-Jaucian, a neonatal-perinatal medicine specialist known as “Doctor Mom” for her compassionate care and advocacy for global neonatal health.
Dr. Anabelle A. Cunanan-Locsin was honored for her leadership in nursing professional development and healthcare education, Dr. Janamitra Devan for his global work in international development economics and policy innovation at the World Bank and G20, and Dr. Joel A. Gamo for his contributions to medical education, including his role as the only Filipino faculty member teaching cadaver dissection at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
Also recognized were Dr. Eva Rose Washburn-Repollo, for advancing education, culture, and the arts through teaching, media, and literacy programs, and lawyer Riza Faith C. Ybañez for her leadership in global business ethics and corporate compliance in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.