Nathaniel Melican

Journalist for The Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines

Journalist. Inquirer.

Nathaniel Melican

Journalist for The Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines

Journalist. Inquirer.

Campaign on to save Navotas bird haven
The morning low tide revealed the island’s natural charms: a vast and largely uninhabited beach, a thick blanket of mangroves. But it also showed its ugly, manmade side: The assortment of trash washing up ashore, from plastic bags to rubber shoes, food wrappers to motorcycle helmets, much of it tangled up with the mangrove growth.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
‘I’ll see you in September’
With more schools planning to adjust their academic calendar to that of the rest of the world, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) is weighing the proposal of the “big four” universities for a change in the start of the academic year to August or September. But Patricia Licuanan, CHEd chair, said on Friday that the proposal would be carefully studied to determine its impact and implications on the wider education system in the Philippines.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
Small Navotas island has big heart for storm victims
After being perennial recipients of aid whenever storms hit their community, residents of an island shantytown in Navotas City saw the recent calamity in the Visayas region as a chance to return the favor. Manuelito Villanueva spent Friday morning collecting relief items from the people of Sitio Pulo in Barangay Tanza.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
Floods can’t stop Malabon from polishing tourism gems
There is more to Malabon City than the tasty pansit and the floods. This is the message of the local government as it invites tourists to rediscover the city that grew around a “visita” or chapel when founded by Augustinian friars in 1599. Pastora Ursal, officer in charge of the Malabon Tourism Office, said even some residents may still be unaware of the city’s “hidden gems” like well-preserved houses, centuries-old churches, art galleries, a zoo, cottage industries and food shops offering Malabonian delicacies.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
Dan Brown’s ‘gates of hell’ must be in these places
Nathaniel R. Melican, Jaymee T. Gamil and Kristine Felisse Mangunay. Dan Brown could be right: Metro Manila indeed has places with names that may lead the unwary to the “gates of hell.”. Their common past is not hard to guess. The more curious part is why residents, for many years, have accepted these names that can send chills down the spine as their (unofficial) addresses.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
New ATM robbery ploy: Sticky keypad
MANILA, Philippines–Nothinghigh-tech here. Just a few drops of sticky stuff to keep potential victims “glued” to the spot. While other crime syndicates are reportedly using scanners and hidden cameras, a man allegedly devised what he thought to be a simpler way to rob users of automated teller machines (ATMs).
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
Free cell phones in campaign rally
Martell Soledad, a candidate for councilor in Valenzuela City, has added cell phones to the array of giveaways—T-shirts, baseball caps and trinkets—during election campaign rallies. Six lucky people who attended the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA)-Tayo Na Valenzuela proclamation rally in Valenzuela on Sunday night each went home with a cell phone given away by Soledad.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
‘Smokey Mountain saved me’
The journey might not have been easy, but Fr. Benigno Beltran says he indeed found hope in Smokey Mountain and this helped him cope throughout his three-decade stay as parish priest in the once sprawling dump in Tondo, Manila. In the process, Beltran, affectionately called Father Ben, helped transform the lives of many residents there—from scavengers to educators, traders, farmers, singers and dancers.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
Ampatuans used backhoes in other killings, says witness
The Ampatuans had used backhoes to cover up a number of killings for several years, just like what they did during the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre, a prosecution witness told a Quezon City regional trial court (RTC) Thursday. Efren Macanas, a backhoe operator hired by the provincial government from 2002 to 2009, said he had been ordered to operate the heavy equipment to bury the alleged victims of the political family which ruled Maguindanao, even before the massacre took place.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
Bond girl’s mission: Homes for the poor
She once played a hot Bond girl named “Peaceful Fountains of Desire.” Off-cam, she plays a role without the fanfare in her family’s mission: To help Filipinos build homes they can call their own. Despite a hectic schedule, a British-Filipino actress and model remains involved in a family-run charity in Metro Manila that has been building houses for the poor since 2007.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
Pateros takes on Taguig, Makati
While the national government is busy defending its claim to Scarborough Shoal against China, a battle among three local governments is heating up for the right to call Fort Bonifacio—a rapidly growing business center east of the Makati Central Business District—their own. Pateros, the only municipality and smallest local government unit in Metro Manila, has filed a civil case before the Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC) seeking to reclaim the 461.56-hectare Fort Bonifacio area from the jurisdiction of Taguig, based on documents obtained by the Inquirer.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
Victim was a scholar who took out trash for cash
He wasn’t the valedictorian, but Rowell Cruz posthumously drew the most poignant applause during Recognition Day at Signal Village National High School in Taguig City yesterday. “He was our graduating student who died on Tuesday,” the emcee said of Cruz, the honor student who was shot dead by two men who grabbed his cell phone and PlayStation Portable (PSP) gaming console outside his house.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer

About

Nathaniel Melican

I love being among the first people to know what's going on in institutions that matter to everyone. And I love sharing that stuff--news--to the public. I love meeting interesting people, traveling to new places, seeing wonderful things, and telling these stories to people through my job.

This is what keeps me going as a journalist: being there to see and share things that the public should know.

WORK EXPERIENCE: 2012-Present: Journalist, The Philippine Daily Inquirer ● 2013-Present: High School Journalism teacher, Pasig Catholic College ● 2010-2011: Journalist, BusinessWorld ● 2009-2010: News writer, NL CrewNews (Philippines) Inc. (Formerly MVIM NewsLink Services Inc.) ● 2009: Freelance book layout artist ● 2006-2008: Reporter, The Varsitarian (Official student publication of the University of Santo Tomas)

EDUCATION: 2008: AB Journalism, University of Santo Tomas ● 2004: High School, Pasig Catholic College ● 2000: Grade School, Pasig Catholic College

FURTHER TRAINING: 2013: Stock Market Specialist Course (Stock Market School Foundation, Inc.) ● 2012: Training on Reporting the Full Story (The Philippine Daily Inquirer) ● 2011: Forum on Reporting the Judiciary (Supreme Court of the Philippines) ● 2011: Lecture on Monetary Policy (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas/BusinessWorld) ● 2011: Lecture on Bonds and other Financial Instruments (Bank of the Philippine Islands/BusinessWorld)

I ALSO: Am a Chelsea Football Club supporter ● Once played football (on a very amateur level with my friends at a makeshift football pitch) ● Play the piano (sort of) ● Am a frustrated straightedge punk ● Would love to teach journalism in college someday.