By Alex P. Vidal
“Farewell, fair cruelty.”—William Shakespeare
WHEN then 41-year-old Dean Arturo “Art” R. Jimenez launched his “Business Observer” column in the now defunct the Daily Times on August 29, 1988, he never realized he buttressed the most formidable team in community journalism ever-assembled in the city and province of Iloilo in that pre-Microsoft software era.
The late publisher Marcos “Mark” Villalon, editor-in-chief Manuel Mejorada, associate editor Limuel Celebria, the late political columnists Sanny Rico and Bel Sobrevega, the late senior reporter Ivan Suansing, editorial assistant Lemuel Fernandez, society page heartthrob John Castigador, sportswriter Gina Hablero were among the best journalists in the region when newspaper articles were still being drafted in the age of manual typewriter.
“Being with the Daily Times gives me a sense of déjà vu on my career as a business journalist from way back to the pre-martial law days at Business Day to Business Reporter less than two years ago,” wrote Jimenez.
“Through all those paper-chase and incessant typewriter-pounding years, there was but one objective: to serve by sharing our socio-economic views, notes and information with the reading public.”
Dean Jimenez’s column also debuted in the now defunct The Sentinel edited by Mejorada in the early 90s.
For the next 32 years, Dean Jimenez continued to write a column under his sui generis trademark, “Business Observer”, that chronicled and explained the country’s economic trend and how a particular social group or socioeconomic class behaves within a society, including their actions as consumers.
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As a dyed-in-the-wool business columnist, Dean Jimenez filled in the blanks of the Ilonggo readers’ penchant to search for tips about macro and micro investment opportunities when Google and other internet search links were still an imagination.
Because his columns dwelt mostly on business and economic issues, Dean Jimenez was never hauled in court for libel or any civil or criminal case related to his being a media personality.
He never offended any political, religious or business group.
Because of the quality of his articles, Dean Jimenez earned the respect of business leaders, including civic organizations like the Rotary Club where he became active leader; the academe, and some political personalities in Western Visayas.
Daily Guardian reprinted one of Dean Jimenez’s last columns, which tackled the country’s much-ballyhooed economic recovery amid the pandemic, on February 18, 2021, a day after he passed away at age 74.
Whenever we had a chance to be together during the halcyon years, we talked mostly about sports.
He believed that tennis star Bjorn Borg could have won more grand slam championships if he were an American like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.
He believed that Muhammad Ali was really “great” even if he lost to the little-known Leon Spinks in 1978, the fight Dean Jimenez believed Ali had won on points after 15 rounds “if he wasn’t robbed.”
Jessie Owens, the 1936 Berlin Olympics multiple gold medalist, would’ve beaten Canadian star Ben Johnson and other post-World War II sprint gold medalists if all of them ran together in one Olympic race, he theorized.
Rest in peace, Dean Art. We know you are now in a better place and one day we shall all meet again.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
