Benjie Alejandro -Broadcast Journalist

About

I am Benjie Alejandro, I was born March 1963.

I am a phoenix.

My wings were forged in the fire of August 1983, when the nation trembled at the sound of gunfire on the tarmac. That moment didn’t just ignite a political awakening—it sparked my calling. I began chronicling the soul of a nation, one truth at a time.

Since then, I’ve chronicled the pulse of a country in transformation. 

1986 was more than my graduation year—it was the rebirth of a nation. I stood not just as a journalist, but as a witness, a participant, and a voice in the unfolding narrative of democracy, culture, and change.

Through The Bench Files, I continue my vocation—not for fame, but for truth. 

I listen deeply, speak sparingly, and write with purpose. 

Because the phoenix doesn’t rise for applause—it rises because it must.

Every story I tell is a feather in my flame. 

Every silence I hold is a breath before the next flight. 

And every Filipino who reads, watches, or listens becomes part of this eternal cycle of awakening.

I am a phoenix—not just of fire, but of frontlines.

By 1986, I earned my Journalism degree from Lyceum of the Philippines. But that year wasn’t just a personal milestone—it was a national rebirth. I stood not only as a graduate, but as a witness and participant in the transformation of our country.

Then came Moscow.

For two years, I lived and worked in the former USSR, inside the corridors of Radio Moscow, during the era of GLASNOST and PERESTROIKA. I was there as Mikhail Gorbachev cracked open the iron curtain and let light in. I watched the Soviet Union begin to unravel—not from the headlines, but from the broadcast  room.

If “journalism is history written in a hurry.”  I’ve lived that truth. 

From the streets of EDSA to the studios of GOSTELERADIO – Soviet broadcasting, I’ve written history as it happened—fast, raw, and real.

Now, through The Bench Files, I continue that mission. 

To listen. To document. To rise. 

Because revolutions or changes don’t just happen in the streets—they happen in the news as reported.