Jose Mari Velez
José Mari Uhler Vélez was a Filipino lawyer, journalist, business executive, and activist best remembered for his long career as television newscaster anchoring The Big News on ABC 5 (now TV5) from March 1967 to September 22, 1972. He was a former TV host on a Public Affairs Program called Velez This Week and also a former news anchor on News at Seven. aired both on GMA Network and both produced by GMA News & Public Affairs and for his service as an oppositionist delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971. He was one of the opposition delegates at the convention, which was why he was one of the first to be arrested when Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial law in September 1972. In April 1989, three years after Marcos was ousted from power and exiled, Velez became one of the first recipients of the Ninoy Aquino Fellowship Award for his accomplishments in journalism, with President Corazon Aquino stating that she believes he "share in Ninoy's vision of preserving and strengthening our democracy."