Why Eugenia “Eggie” Duran Apostol is someone to look up to
They rose. They lifted others.
A journalist and publisher who defended independent journalism and helped create space for other writers, editors, and truth-tellers to grow.
September 29, 1925 – September 13, 2026
There are journalists who report history. And then there are those who help make history possible by ensuring that people are allowed to know the truth.
Eugenia “Eggie” Duran Apostol was one of them.
During the Marcos dictatorship, when censorship and fear constrained much of the Philippine press, Apostol used publishing as an instrument of democratic resistance.
Through Mr. & Ms. and its special editions, she helped create space for reporting that challenged the controlled narrative of the regime. After the assassination of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. in 1983, the Mr. & Ms. Special Edition covered his funeral and the extraordinary public response at a time when much of the established press remained constrained.
But Eggie’s importance goes beyond the stories her publications carried.
She built places where other journalists could be brave.
She created and supported publications in which reporters and editors could practice independent journalism. Among the prominent journalists associated with this work was Letty Jimenez Magsanoc, who edited the Mr. & Ms. Special Edition and would become one of the country’s most respected newspaper editors.
Apostol later became a founding chair of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which grew into one of the country’s major newspapers. When she eventually sold her interest in the paper, she continued to emphasize the importance of protecting the independence of its editorial department.
And retirement did not silence her.
In 1999, during the Estrada administration and amid renewed pressures on the Philippine press, Apostol returned to publishing with the Pinoy Times, a Filipino-language publication aimed at bringing serious public-affairs journalism to a broad readership.
When advertisers stayed away and the newspaper struggled financially, Apostol personally covered its expenses.
That tells us something important about her.
She did not merely call for a free press.
She helped build - and when necessary, finance - the space in which journalists could practice it.
But perhaps the part of Eggie’s story that most clearly explains why she belongs in Filipinos to Look Up To came after she had already achieved distinction in journalism.
She turned increasingly toward education.
Apostol and friends established the Foundation for Worldwide People Power in 1996. Among its major initiatives was an “Education Revolution” aimed at strengthening Philippine public education.
One of its programs, Mentoring the Mentors, focused on developing teachers’ mentoring abilities - strengthening educators who could, in turn, help develop other teachers and students.
Eggie explained the challenge simply:
“We have to educate our people better.”
In 2006, she received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation recognized her courageous example in placing the truth-telling press at the center of the struggle for democratic rights and better government in the Philippines. Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation - Eugenia Duran Apostol
And what did Eggie do with the ₱2.53-million award money that accompanied one of Asia’s highest honors?
She gave it to the Education Revolution.
That detail, perhaps more than any award or title, tells us why she belongs in this series.
Eggie Apostol had already achieved success and recognition. Yet she continued using what she had - her courage, resources, institutions and influence - to create opportunities for others.
She helped journalists tell the truth.
She helped teachers become better mentors.
She helped Filipinos become better informed.
On September 13, 2026, Eugenia Duran Apostol passed away, just sixteen days before what would have been her 101st birthday. Her death was announced by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.
But we include her here not simply to mark her passing.
We include her because of the life she lived - and the people she helped rise.
Her life’s work leaves us with a lesson worth remembering:
A free press helps people know.
Education helps people think.
And informed citizens help keep democracy alive.