Josh Mangila, recipient of the TFT Awards 2016 Media Personality of the Year, believes 2016 was his best year by far. Weeks after taking home his TFT Award, he received an invitation from Malta European Tourism to fly to Malta to accept his “Most Influential Travel Journalist 2016” award. He was the first Filipino, and the only one so far, to bag the title.
“I am very grateful to TFT for recognizing all the talented and deserving Filipinos in the UAE. TFT is indeed the most prestigious award giving body for the Filipino community and admittedly, it has a vigorous impact in my life,” Mangila said.
A year after gaining his accolades, Mangila has never been so busy, juggling his duties as an editor-in-chief, traveling around the world, and doing his weekly travel show on radio. When he finds the time, he devotes a few hours to teaching new media practitioners who want to learn about the ropes of the industry.
Like his young protégés, Mangila wants this year’s nominees for the TFT Awards Media Personality of the Year to embrace humility.
“Receiving these awards has taught me to be humble and to know that with great power as a media, comes great responsibility. It is the quintessential goal to learn the power of hope amid every challenge that you face, to know that it is only in darkness that you can see real stars,” he said.
“Winning is a magical thing that you feel inside. It is a gift of compassion, charm and courage. It is like pulling rabbits from hats in front of a frowning crowd and suddenly, you put a light and smile on their faces,” he added. (Gelin Castro)
