Let me pay tribute to our long-time colleague and editor in this paper who passed away last April 5, Crispulo Icban Jr., everyone's “Sir Jun” or “Mang June.”
A bright self-effacing man, excellent editor, everybody's friend, and mentor to all the reporters and aspiring section editors in the paper, he favored no one. In all his long years with the company, (47 years) he did not have an “enemy.”
“He played fair to everyone,” a pillar in the public relations industry told us.
Aspiring journalist-contributors, struggling public relations practitioners, aspiring reporters – everyone knew him as a very generous and humble man, with all his talents, and “power” in the editorial room.
To call him “very approachable” is an understatement. I remember my earlier years in the office when I was still a contributor, Jun Icban was a senior up the ranks but he was a great help in getting me adjusted to the grind of newspapering. This kapangpangan gentleman went through my “copy kindly, edited them and gave it back with a smile.
I knew him as a man with simple joys...like good food, hanging out once in a while with his peers in their “club” Plaridel to share stories and their views on current happenings around the country. The regular members all had very strong opinions and they defended their views passionately. Jun was more amiable and did not get into heated debates. He respected the views of his peers and just enjoyed the food served!
His dedication to his work in the news room was respected by all. We all saw him as a true professional who edited the No. 1 paper in the country. Then his friend, fellow kapangpangan, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo tapped him as her Press Secretary after a vacany occured when erstwhile Sec. Cerge Remonde suddenly passed away. Jun obeyed, with boss, Don Emilio Yap's blessings and served for several months.
Jun survived his only government job without fuss and went back to the Manila Bulletin unscathed.
His loyalty to the company he worked for was unquestionable. I personally saw this when the paper went through a long protracted labor strike led by some staff writers. The renegades made sure they would disrupt the Sunday run of the paper which at that time had many pages. They called the strike on a Saturday when the paper was being readied for the press run.
The Editorial department went into a semi panic mode as the aim of the strikers was to keep the Sunday paper from being printed the next day. No one was at work in the press and layout room. The editors, headed by the late Ben Rodriguez, Orly Aquino, and Icban worked to compress the remaining dummy sheets (layoutting was done manually then) and they decided to have the pages printed at the Liwayway (Bulletin’s sister publication) in Makati.
I was appointed to smuggle out the “dummies” of the pages as the strikers were watching at the doors. I had this huge stuffed toy at my desk and they helped me tuck the dummy sheets into that. I went out of the building demurely, boarded the family car to go to Makati with the hidden dummies. Yes, our paper for Sunday came out, less all the ads (which were many), but it came out!
This made our boss Don Emilio happy. We did succeed in continuing the printing of our paper, with most of us sleeping in the editorial room.
Icban would make it a point to join us for some of our weekly Bulong Pulungan. I updated him on who our guest panelists were and if he found them interesting, he joined our forum in Sofitel. His presence gladdened the speakers who looked up to Icban, impressed by his being editor of the Manila Bulletin. He took it all in genially, always the easy going friend of everybody.
Good bye, Sir Jun. May you find heaven a bright and beautiful place to mentor aspiring angel-writers. You will be remembered by all of your friends and co-workers with a smile!