Hailed as the Most Outstanding Student Publication, The Angelite secured a sweeping victory at the HAU Press Club’s (HPC) inaugural Gawad Plumang Anghel (GPA) on June 9, taking home a total of 13 awards — eight group and five individual distinctions.

Clinching the first award, Gawad sa Pagsulat ng Balita recognized former News Editor Izzy Daguay and former Senior Editor Brienne David as the most outstanding news writers.

Daguay, alongside Lana Erin Ramos, also received Gawad Kritikal Lente for most outstanding special reporting for their collaborative investigative piece. Meanwhile, photographer Sean Baluyut was honored with Gawad sa Larawang Pampahayagan as the most outstanding photojournalist.

Features Editor Juliana Denise Gamboa earned dual accolades, securing both Gawad sa Pagsulat ng Lathalain and Gawad Pampanitikan for her feature and literary submissions.

As for the group awards that contributed to its Most Outstanding Student Publication recognition, The Angelite swept the following categories: 

• Gawad Digital (Main Award)
• Gawad Digital – Parangal sa mga Pinakamahusay na mga Likhain (Best Digital Content)
• Gawad Digital – Parangal sa Pinakamahusay na Digital na Integrasyon (Best Digital Integration)
• Gawad Digital – Parangal sa Pinakamahusay na Digital na Presentasyon (Best Digital Presentation)
• Gawad Lathala (Main Award)
• Gawad Lathala – Parangal sa Pinakamahusay na mga Likhang Sining (Best Artworks)
• Gawad Lathala – Parangal sa Pinakamahusay na Paglalapat (Best Print Layout)

The Angelite was likewise acknowledged as an honorable mention in the following categories:

• Nikkson Cayanan – Gawad sa Pagsulat ng Balita (Most Outstanding News Writer)
• Denice Tuazon – Gawad sa Pagsulat ng Lathalain (Most Outstanding Feature Writer)
• Denice Tuazon – Gawad Pampanitikan (Most Outstanding Literary Writer)
• Sophia Rose Suarez and Kinsley David – Gawad sa Pagsulat ng Isports (Most Outstanding Sports Writer)
• Godwin Pring and Ray Allen Paguinto – Gawad Pang-Opinyon (Most Outstanding Opinion Writer)
• Godwin Pring and Ray Allen Paguinto – Gawad Kritikal na Lente (Most Outstanding Special Reporter)
• Juan Gabriel Simbulan – Gawad sa Paglalapat (Most Outstanding Layout Artist)
• Reign Alexa Galang and Lance Jester Enguerra – Gawad sa Paglalarawang-Tudling (Most Outstanding Editorial Cartoonist)
• Michelle Shane Apostol – Gawad sa Larawang Pampahayagan (Most Outstanding Photojournalist)

Other college student publications and campus journalists were also recognized during the awards ceremony for their excellence in journalism — including recipients of external accolades from competitions and graduating members honored for their contributions.

In an interview, Office of Student Affairs (OSA) Student Activities Coordinator Paul Ernest Carreon clarified that GPA sought to replace the Student Journalism Awards (SJA), which was last presented by OSA in 2024.

Preceding GPA as a student-led award giving body was The People’s Pen Awards, led by The Angelite’s then-Senior Editor Princess Payumo in 2023.

“We reached out to HPC to take charge of the event, and the matter was raised during an HPC meeting I attended with [the] last year’s term,” Mr. Carreon shared.

He added that, alongside OSA, HPC — as led by editors-in-chief during academic year (AY) 2024-2025, played an integral role in organizing the year-end awarding and in consolidating entries from various student publications.

ERRATUM: The article stated earlier that the last Student Journalism Awards was held in 2023, as presented by the now-defunct The People’s Pen Awards. We have since corrected that statement, clarifying that the last Student Journalism Awards was presented by OSA in 2024, while the last student-led Student Journalism Awards was in 2023. We apologize for this oversight.