CDN Digital: A giant leap of faith
On January 1, 2019, Cebu Daily News Digital was launched as the first fully digital news organization in Cebu after its print edition had its last run on the last day of 2018. The pivot, actually a giant leap of faith, heralds the massive change on how Cebuanos would source out their news and information.
Just like its print predecessor, CDN Digital also covers diverse topics like plain news, hard-hitting opinions, engaging features, action-packed sports stories, human interest stories, beauty pageants, politics, with attention-grabbing photos and videos at a blurring speed as we always try to be as close to real time as possible.
But the hard work and preparations started as early as 2016 when CDN first tested the waters of the digital realm.
The decision to migrate from print to digital was never easy. It was met with loads of doubt and ridicule mostly from the very members of Cebu’s media community. But we are determined to blaze the trail armed with the unwavering support of the entire Inquirer organization particularly Inquirer.net.
Approaching its fourth year of existence, CDN Digital is now the biggest and most trusted digital news company in the Visayas and Mindanao with more than 2.6 million Facebook followers. Its other platforms like Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube are likewise enjoying massive growth.
With its focus on bringing hyperlocal stories and Cebu-centric narratives to every available gadget and guided by the Inquirer brand of storytelling, CDN Digital has indeed gone a long way from its humble and challenging beginnings. Today, it is Cebu’s undisputed source of reliable, relevant, and factual information.
With genuine passion, resilience, hard work, and the Inquirer DNA running in its veins, CDN Digital remains steadfast in its mission of providing Journalism that Builds Communities.
CDN STORIES THAT LEAVE THEIR MARK
The Ashley Abad story
The tragic and harrowing story of young Ashley Abad became the first publicly documented, ecstasy-related death in Cebu, in recent history.
It spawned not only questions on the purpose of having large parties and huge concerts during Sinulog but it also prompted authorities to take a peek into, and eventually unveil to the public, the hidden world of party drugs among Cebu’s high society. To some extent, suspected party drug suppliers in the province were jailed or worse, killed.
Like most metropolises, Cebu also has its share of whispers and rumors about the rampant use of party drugs, particularly among the ‘alta sociedad’ or the privileged few.
These would amplify when January comes, when everyone is in the mood to join the revelry for Sinulog.
In 2016, a concertgoer reportedly died after ingesting a party drug during a Sinulog-related event but the allegations weren’t substantiated.
Three years later, however, the spotlight on party drugs in Cebu’s clubs and other private and high-end establishments can no longer be ignored.
We got a whiff of news on Ashley’s passing through social media - on January 21, 2019. At that time, no one knew yet the identity of the young woman who passed out and eventually died after attending a concert.
We reached out to the organizers of the concert called Plus63 who confirmed that they, too, received official information about one of their guests’ death. But they were unable to provide further details as the authorities have stepped in.
The unofficial reports circulating, on the other hand, were much more alarming. They say the victim died after overdosing on ecstasy. Others claimed somebody laced her drink.
These revived discussions about the proliferation of party drugs in Cebu, especially during Sinulog.
Local police came forward a day after we published Plus63’s statement, and revealed that indeed, a young 19-year-old college student from a well-off family died after attending a concert.
A few weeks after the police announced the details of the tragedy, the country’s anti-narcotics department confirmed that Ashley Abad's death was caused by drug overdose.
However, at this point, nobody knew exactly who Ashley was.Luckily, one of CDN's former editors came in contact with a close friend who knew Ashley’s mother and that's how Reporter Morexette Erram got to chronicle the life of the young victim, and unearth details that were otherwise shrouded by ugly talks about party drugs.
The family and her friends shared their fondest memories of Ashley, whom the general public only knew through bits and pieces of news reports made about her untimely death.
They wanted to remember the 19-year-old accounting student as the ‘bright and bubbly girl’ - with an infectious smile and contagious laughter, and positive outlook.
Those close to Ashley hoped everyone would get to know her ‘other side’ - and that she was a caring daughter, and a supportive friend who loves playing soccer, cooking, organizing, and hoped one day would open her own restaurant.
Ultimately, the story highlighting Ashley’s life, albeit cut-short, showed to everyone that hers was not just a name tied to the dark side of Cebu’s party scene. That she was also a daughter, a sister, and a friend very dear to those around her.
'Savage Girl'
How would you describe a sweet-faced woman who would later turn out as a ruthless child trafficker, who would abuse young kids with abandon while filming their sufferings while they were forced to perform lewd acts in front of the camera, and tortured beyond pain?
Who would lure young scavengers with the promise of a good life only to abuse them in ways that would make even the most jaded investigators break down while watching the videos she and her fugitive Australian boyfriend had sold to clients overseas?
Who, with her boyfriend, would film the muted shouts of a one-year-old girl who was hung upside down with her legs spread apart with the same woman pouring melted candles into her genitals?
Who would film the slow and agonizing death of an 11-year-old girl as her boyfriend inserted bolos and knives into her private parts while being watched live by an international audience of perverts and heartless pedophiles?
Savage Girl!
Liezyl Margallo was only 23 years old when arrested by a crack team of local and international anti-child trafficking agents while cavorting with a foreign national on the beach in Malapascua Island off the northern tip of Cebu on January 25, 2017. That was exactly two years after she disappeared when her Australian boyfriend was finally arrested in Cagayan de Oro where they left a trail of indescribable suffering and exploitation of minors.
From the day operatives swooped down on that Malapascua resort to arrest Margallo to her temporary incaceration in Cebu up to the time when she was transported back to Cagayan de Oro City for her trial and imprisonment, CDN Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol was relentless in pursuing stories and feature articles about the girl who many said was the ultimate female version of the devil, whose arrest sparked debates about the reimposition of the death penalty.
Savage Girl was Inquirer.net's most viewed article of 2017 and had more than 800,000 shares by 2018. Up to this day, the entire archipelago is still in shock and disbelief about the unspeakable horror brought by Savage Girl.
Carcar twins
The video on the beatboxing twins of Carcar City caught the internet world by storm when it was shown by CDN. It got even more popular after it was shared by Hollywood A-list actor Will Smith.
Saddled by autism, the two 15-year-old boys made up for their apparent handicap with world-class beatboxing skills. CDN social media specialist Immae Lachica also wrote a short story about the boys based on the comments that netizens wrote in the comments section since the boys are difficult to interview because they refuse to talk to strangers.
So far, the video has generated 4 million views.
