Inquirer report on PH debt burden wins Best News Coverage at 48th CMMA

MANILA, Philippines — The Inquirer’s two-part special report on the country’s growing debt burden won Best News Coverage at the 48th Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA).

The reports, “Debt service eats up biggest slice of budget pie” and “PH debt stock projected to hit P19T by end of 2026,” were written by Krixia Subingsubing, Nyah de Leon and Dexter Cabalza, with Inquirer Research.

The Catholic institution announced the winners of the 48th CMMA on Saturday.

The special report explored the legal and historical origins of the Philippines’ debt and its impact on government spending and funding for public services.

The first part examined how debt servicing consumes a huge share of the national budget each year, often with little scrutiny from Congress before funds are allocated to other priorities.

READ: Debt service eats up biggest slice of budget pie

The second part delved into how government borrowing could push the country’s debt beyond P19 trillion by the end of 2026, citing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s justification of government debt as an investment in growth.

The special report included views from World Bank senior economist Jaffar Al-Rikabi, For People’s Budget Coalition co-convenor and economist Adolfo Jose Montesa, former Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, and Freedom from Debt Coalition Secretary General Rovik Obanil.

The Inquirer’s coverage of the International Criminal Court proceedings involving former President Rodrigo Duterte, reported by Kathleen de Villa from The Hague, was also a finalist in the Best News Coverage category.

The series featured reports titled “ICC prosecutor shrugs off Duterte defense hitting media, witnesses,” “From ICC press row: Du30 not in court ‘just feels wrong’” and “When the drug war ‘Pieta’ reached The Hague.”

READ: PH debt stock projected to hit P19T by end of 2026

Three more Inquirer works were also recognized at the 48th CMMA.

“Lives Lost Too Soon: Children Not Spared in Duterte Drug War” by Kurt Dela Peña and “Where Priests Train for Battles of ‘Liberation’” by Gillian Villanueva were among the finalists in the Best Special Feature category.

In the Best Investigative Report category, Cristina Eloisa Baclig’s “Dead and Drowned: Cemeteries Vanish as Seas, Floods Rise” examined a little-seen consequence of climate change and worsening flooding: the disappearance of cemeteries in vulnerable communities.

Founded by the Catholic Church in the Philippines in 1978, the CMMA honors outstanding media work that upholds truth, human dignity, and Christian values.

It recognizes media professionals, artists, storytellers, and content creators whose works encourage moral responsibility, social awareness, and public welfare. /mcm