ABS-CBN News anchor and former Bantay Bata program director Tina Monzon Palma receives the Gawad Plaridel from UP officialsABS-CBN anchor Tina Monzon Palma was awarded the UP Gawad Plaridel, the highest honor given by the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) to outstanding Filipino media practitioners.

Palma, who has served as an anchor for ABS-CBN news programs such as “Talk Back with Tina Palma” and “The World Tonight” on ANC, received the award in a formal ceremony held at the university’s Diliman campus.

The former program director of Bantay Bata 163 was cited for her contributions to improve the Philippine media in her over 40 years in the industry.

The Gawad Plaridel is conferred on Filipino media practitioners who have displayed the “highest level of professional integrity in the interest of public service.” The award takes its name from the pseudonym of journalistpatriot Marcelo del Pilar.

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN News reporters Chiara Zambrano and Carolyn Bonquin were awarded Chevening scholarships by the British government.

They are set to leave for the United Kingdom to further develop their craft after being named among the 27 Chevening scholars for 2017.

Zambrano will go to Royal Holloway, University of London to study documentary by practice. No stranger to producing documentaries, the 34-year- old reporter is fresh from covering the war in Marawi. She also shared her experiences and accounts in special documentaries aired on ABS-CBN and ANC.

Bonquin, on the other hand, is known for her human-interest stories and reports on Philippine politics. The former segment producer from ABS-CBN Baguio will study investigative journalism in Birkbeck, University of London.