Published March 21, 2026 by CSU-Gonzaga Paragon
Two Paragon scribes clinched top spots during the Luzon-wide Higher Education Press Conference (LHEPC) held on March 17–19, 2025.
Lenin Marx Siazon, a third-year English major and the junior editor-in-chief of Paragon, won second place in Copyediting and Headline Writing (CHW) (English) while Lyzette Kate Tajadao, a second-year accountancy student and the publication's Development Communication editor, placed seventh in Feature Writing (English).
In an interview, Siazon said that the result surprised him, as it was only his second time competing in CHW.
"I competed [in CHW], and I never thought I'd get this far,” the third-year student said. “The first time was when I placed second [in CHW] during the Regional Higher Education Press Conference (RHEPC) this year.”
He added that he doubted he would win after the announcer declared Region II’s champion in CHW (English) as the ninth placer.
“I was totally surprised. When the champion of Region II [in CHW] was announced first, I thought my chances of winning were blown out of the water. He placed higher than I did during the RHEPC,” he added.
Meanwhile in a separate interview, Lyzette Kate Tajadao said she was also surprised to place seventh in Feature Writing (English) at the LHEPC.
“I was not originally part of the LHEPC. I placed sixth during the RHEPC, and only the top five were meant to advance,” Tajadao said.
She added that her participation in the LHEPC came as a surprise.
“When I saw a message saying that I would be part of the LHEPC—because one of Region II’s qualifiers in Feature Writing (English) could not attend—I was in complete shock,” she added.
Siazon, Tajadao, and three other LHEPC qualifiers represented the campus: Lucky Jewel Rabara, a first-year education student, in Photojournalism (Filipino); Vibien Airah Soller, a second-year education student, in Editorial Writing (Filipino); and Leonard Jake Cabais, a fourth-year agriculture student, in Traditional Editorial Cartooning (Filipino) and Digital Editorial Cartooning (Filipino). Siazon also participated in Editorial Writing (English).
The 21st LHEPC gathered 167 student publications with 1,189 participants in total at NGN Gran Hotel, Tuguegarao City.
LHEPC is the highest journalism competition in the tertiary level. Next year, the LHEPC will expand to the national stage with the National Higher Education Press Conference (NHEPC) to be held at Vigan City, Ilocos. Sur.
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✍️Jet Siazon
🎨Jesiebel May Ocon
#21stlhepc