Mars is a Philippine-based journalist with over 15 years of experience covering business and major events in the Philippines and some parts of Southeast Asia. He was Cebu news bureau chief of a leading national newspaper from 2001 to 2016 and was correspondent of Reader’s Digest (Asia) magazine from 2004 to 2013. He was also freelance reporter for ChinaTopix.com, Pasadena Now, Asia Golf Monthly, ParGolf Asia, Business Mirror, and a number of niche business news sites in the region. Mars is a member of the Cebu Federation of Beat Journalists, the only duly-registered organization of beat reporters in the Philippines.