Courtesy call with the Sultan of Sulu

Getting to know our muslim brothers. Raymond (right) beside Sultan Kiram and his children, the Sultanate of Sulu, Jolo. This was taken in Patikul or Maiubong, Jolo in 1987 during the peace talk with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Government of the Repulic of the Philippines (GRP).

Ces at the Yakan Village, Zamboanga City, 1987

Ces Orena-Drilon during our free time at the Yakan Village, Zamboanga City. We were both covering the peace process between the GRP and the MNLF. Behind are stilt houses of the Samals.

a candid shot of Ces Orena-Drilon...

You will probably not recognize this face but this was Ces Orena-Drilon during her stint with Channel 4 way back 1987 during the peace process between the GRP and the MNLF. This photo was taken at the Lantaka Hotel in Zamboanga City. She later moved to ABS-CBN news and current affairs.

...now you can recall...

Above, photo is our class and batch "get together" from the Ateneo grade school batch 1972 and high school batch 1976. The picture below was taken during our Ateneo Homecoming last December 2006. The black and white photo is my class picture from the Colegio San Agustin, Makati where I finished my senior high. Below it are my classmates from the Colegio San Agustin's "small reunion".

Everytime we have get togethers or reunions; we have all aged after 25 to 30 years? Some are bald, taller, shorter, bigger and slimmer, most wear eye glasses now, some have white or salt and pepper hair. So we often ask questions like "who's he again?" or "you remember that guy?" "Hey, remember him?" And most will say, "show me his grade school or high school picture and definitely we will be able to recall or recognize him." So classmates and batchmates, the sepia photo below is how I looked during my grade school days at the Ateneo. This was our official photo for our yearbook, the "Chronicle". And above, the black and white class picture seated on the right beside our class adviser was how I looked during my senior year at the Colegio San Agustin. I am the only one wearing a pair of rubber shoes. Presindente eh!

"man for others"

Raymond Donesa with Veronica Pedrosa way back late 80's during their stint at the La Ignaciana Apostolic Center, Jesuit Legal Aid, Sta. Ana, Manila, a non-government organization. Apostolic Center was later transferred to the Ateneo de Manila University campus under the Institute of Social Order at the Social Development Center in defense of human rights and democracy involving themselves in service of the needy, in the Ignatian spirit of truly being a "man for others". Raymond later joined the Center for Strategic Studies; Veronica at the ABS-CBN news and current affairs and moved on to a foreign news network CNN. In the late 90's, Raymond joined the advertising industry doing production and marketing. He still does documentary on special assignments.

Former DepEd Secretary Butch Abad and Akbayan spokesperson Ronald Llamas in the early 80's

These photos were taken in the early 80's during the Philippine Martial Law. Photo above is a blockade taken at the Legarda street

and Mendiola bridge. The second frame shows Ronald Llamas (extreme right) now with Akbayan. The lower pix was shot at the Manila Post Office, notice Butch Abad (far left) a former congressman during the Aquino and Ramos administration. He was also a former secretary at the Department of Education during the earlier part of the Arroyo administration.

Covering the president, vice president and the senators...

A talk with Pia Cayetano, above. Middle photo shows Orly Mercado, Kabayan Noli de Castro, President Arroyo at the center, Sen. Frank Drilon and the late Senator Barbers taken in Jaro, Iloilo City. Below, photo shows smiling President Arroyo at the Kamayan sa Palaisdaan in Tayabas, Quezon Province.

On assignment...

...with Ryan Pacpaco of the Journal Group, Tobi Nebrida of NBN4 and other members of the media...

Kaamulan Festival

...with the news makers, from left is Ryan Pacpaco of the Journal Group and Gerald Dumasal of NBN4 at the festival in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Mindanao.

Bringing you the news...

Raymond M. Donesa covering the 2004 Senatorial Election. Photo on the upper left was taken in Ipil, Lanao del Sur. Left photo was taken in General Santos in Mindanao and below, in Bataan when he was doing a documentary on the 2004 election with the K4 Media Bureau.