Inquirer.net editor Tupas among int’l ‘Icons of Change’ awardees

MANILA, Philippines — Inquirer.net assignment editor and longtime judiciary reporter Ma. Theresa “Tetch” Torres-Tupas was among the journalists honored by Icons of Change in 2026, joining a list that includes BBC World Service correspondent Mike Thomson and award-winning investigative journalist Chris Rogers.

Torres-Tupas was recognized as a 2026 Changemaker for Ethical Legal Journalism under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which centers on peace, justice and strong institutions.

She has been covering the judiciary beat for Inquirer.net for more than two decades and currently serves as the news website’s assignment editor.

Article continues after this advertisement

Measurable contributions

Torres-Tupas was also named a Young Media Leaders fellow by the World Editors Forum Asia Chapter and World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-Ifra) in 2021.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

In 2017, she was recognized as an outstanding journalist during the 6th Mandatory Continuing Legal Education National Convention of Public Officers.

She was also a member of the Philippine Daily Inquirer I-Team that won second place in the explanatory category of the Jaime V. Ongpin Journalism Award in 2006.

Icons of Change, a global recognition platform, said the distinction places ethical legal journalism within the broader framework of institutional accountability, access to justice, public understanding of law and the strengthening of democratic and governance systems.

Other honorees

Torres-Tupas was among global professionals and institutional leaders recognized for what Icons of Change described as measurable contributions to ethical leadership, sustainable development, scientific advancement, governance, climate resilience, peacebuilding and human welfare.

Article continues after this advertisement

Among the other journalists honored was Thomson, an international affairs correspondent for BBC World Service with more than three decades of global reporting experience.

Thomson was named War Correspondent of the Year at the Prix Bayeux Calvados in 2008, Journalist of the Year at the One World Media Awards in 2008 and Journalist of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards in 2012. He also won the Amnesty International Media Award four times, in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014.

Article continues after this advertisement

Rogers is a Bafta Award-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated investigative reporter.

He previously served as senior producer, director for long-form investigations and senior presenter at the BBC, as well as executive producer and program editor at Sky News. He is also cofounder of Fresh Start Media.

Other honorees were Felícia Claudinanda Cruz Carvalho, former vice minister of finance of Timor-Leste; Michele Barbato, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis; Robert Bruce Hayes, associate professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University; Brian Boxer Wachler, founder and medical director of the Boxer Wachler Vision Institute; Izabela Pereira Watts, senior lecturer at the University of Canberra; and Agnes K. Y. Tai, adjunct professor of sustainability leadership and governance at the University of Hong Kong.

Past Inquirer winners

In June 2025, the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) and two members of its broadsheet’s news team received the Icons of Change awards.

The Inquirer, as a media outfit, received the award for Excellence in Journalism for Truth, Accountability and Nation-Building.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

Then PDI day desk chief Dewey Joseph “DJ” Yap was cited for Excellence in Ethical Journalism and Newsroom Leadership, while then reporter Julie Aurelio was recognized for Excellence in Political and Governance Reporting. /cb