Isagani M. "Gani" Yambot (November 16, 1934 – March 2, 2012) was a Filipino

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

who served as the

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

of the ''

Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded broad ...

'' from 1994 until his death in 2012. Yambot was born in

Tagbilaran City Tagbilaran, officially the City of Tagbilaran (; ), is a component city and capital of the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 104,976 people making it the most populous in the province. Tagbila ...

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol (; ), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It is home to Bohola ...

, in 1934. Both his parents were teachers: his mother taught

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

while his father taught English and mathematics. The family moved to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, settling in the Tondo district. He studied at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

, where he earned a degree in

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

. He earned a

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ship to the Washington Journalism Center. His first job in journalism was at the now closed ''

Manila Times ''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrative offices at 2/F ...

'', which he joined in 1953. He remained with the newspaper, covering both Malacañan Palace and the Philippines' Senate. He left the ''Manila Times'', taking a position as a night editor for

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

(UPI) in 1973. In 1974, Yambot joined the former ''Times Journal'', serving as that newspaper's managing editor from 1983 until 1985. From 1981 to 1982, Yambot worked as a

press attaché In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization. It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) via the media. The subje ...

for the Philippines' Ambassador to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Benjamin Romualdez Carlos Benjamin Orestes "Kokoy" Trinidad Romualdez (September 24, 1930 – February 21, 2012) was a Filipino politician who served as Governor of Leyte and later appointed as ambassador to the United States, China and Saudi Arabia. He was a ...

, in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

. He served as the press attaché for the Embassy of the Philippines in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

from 1985 to 1986. Upon his return to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

from his diplomatic posting in Washington, Yambot joined the ''

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

'' newspaper as its managing editor in 1988. Yambot became an editor at the ''

'' in April 1989, remaining at that daily newspaper for the rest of his career. He was named executive editor and, in June 1991, associate publisher. He became publisher of the ''Daily Inquirer'' in February 1994. In 1999, major advertisers who supported former

Philippine President The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in- ...

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

organized a five-month-long boycott of the ''Philippine Daily Inquirer''. Yambot denounced the boycott as politically motivated. He was awarded the Outstanding News Editor award from the College Editors Guild of the Philippines in 1975. He won the Catholic Mass Media Award for Best In-Depth Article in 1994 and the Lakan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Journalism in 1995.

Death

Yambot underwent quadruple bypass surgery in on February 21, 2012. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on March 2, 2012 in

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig (), is a highly-urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the eastern border of Metro Mani ...

aged 77. He was survived by his wife, Mildred, and six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yambot, Isagani 1934 births 2012 deaths Filipino newspaper publishers (people) Filipino newspaper editors Filipino journalists University of the Philippines alumni People from Tagbilaran People from Tondo, Manila Philippine Daily Inquirer people