PANABO CITY – The Davao Reef, the official student publication of Davao del Norte State College, recorded its strongest showing at the 17th National Campus Media Conference (NCMC), taking home three second-place finishes and multiple Top 10 recognitions across individual writing, visual journalism, and group competitions held on October 22–24, 2026, at Crown Legacy Hotel, Baguio City.
Rain Kieffer Montealto, Marvin Ken Tumando, and Khenn Niez each won silver medals after placing second in Editorial Cartooning (Filipino), Poetry Writing (Filipino), and Political Writing (English), respectively.
Angel Gasing finished fourth in Editorial Writing (English), while Joshua Lei Selgas placed tenth in News Writing (Filipino).
In Profile Feature Story (Filipino), TDR ranked seventh overall, with Niez placing sixth in Best Photojournalist, Christine Marie Gomez seventh in Best Layout Artist, and Selgas eighth in Best Feature Writer.
The publication also placed ninth overall in Mobile News Reel Storytelling. Its delegates Jess Eriel Finchrist Burgos, Montealto, and Selgas each ranked ninth in Best Video Journalist, Best Reporter, and Best Scriptwriter. Czarina Nicole Lara M. Lanes, in her capacity as Student Publication Coordinator, guided the delegation as its coach.
The three-day conference challenged campus journalists to uphold truth and accountability amid the growing sophistication of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital content manipulation.
During the keynote address, news anchor, radio host, and reporter Mon Arjel Gualvez warned delegates about the growing risks of fabricated videos, cloned voices, manipulated photographs, and misleading narratives that appear credible.
“A convincing video can be fake; a realistic voice can be cloned. A photograph can be manipulated. A story that sounds completely believable can still be completely wrong. So, the question is no longer just, ‘Can we write a story?’ The bigger question is, ‘Can we prove that our story is true?’” Gualvez said.
The conference was attended by 1,353 delegates from 126 participating schools nationwide, representing various educational levels.
