A ‘promdi’ leads the KBP to glory heights

Twenty five years ago, Herman Z. Basbano was a young, aggressive radio anchorman of Bombo Radyo Iloilo who pioneered a shift to public affairs interviews in radio programming. At the time, the radio audience was just awakening to the power of the medium to crystallize issues, and the idea of intelligent conversations with news makers and opinion moulders hadn’t taken root yet. Radio was mostly news and soap opera. Premium was given to voice quality, and little demand was made on the intellectual side of announcers. Those were the ebbing yeras of the Marcos dictatorship, and press freedom was still a concept few dared to explore.

I was still working with the Development Bank of the Philippines and moonlighted as a freelance journalist, writing for national and international publications like Business Day (which evolved into the present-day Business World), Asiaweek Magazine as well as the wire agencies Agence France Presse (AFP) and Kyodo News Service. It was a heady period for young turks in media because we were constantly on the ringside of history. Hardly a day passed without a major story breaking out, especially on the steady decline of the Marcos regime and the growing clamor for freedom and democracy. Ninoy Aquino had been assassinated a year before. The Filipino nation was growing restless. As a journalist, I was constantly on my toes, watching for upheavals in the political scene.

This keen interest for sudden twists and turns in the political landscape brought together a small group of young journalists to share our passion for media work, meeting almost every day after 5 o’ clock to imbibe San Miguel beer and trade stories and experiences. The group was composed of Basbano, the late Atty. Jules Fuentes, Benjie Guevarra, Limuel Celebria and myself. It was a dynamic group, filled with energy and enthusiasm, unmindful of the potential hazards in an environment where dissenters were routinely arrested, or downright liquidated. The late Geman Gonzales also occasionally joined us. There existed no bitter rivalries. We cherished competition and laughed at our mistakes.

Basbano anchored the “Bombohanay Big Time” program, the 7:30 a.m. news and public affairs program of Bombo Radyo. He began his work day with the 6 o’ clock newscast and stayed on to field news reports until 9:30 a.m. As the political climate grew tense, and more opposition leaders emerged from the shadows to openly denounce the regime, Basbano embarked on an ambitious thrust to corner the public affairs audience not only on the local level, but even on the national level. This took place in 1984, and long distance charges were exorbitant, and making overseas calls had to go through the operator. This was the era before NDD and IDD. Phone dials were rotary, not touch-tone. But Basbano persuaded the network president, Rogelio Florete, to gamble on this scheme.

Under this innovative scheme, Basbano would interview key opposition figures at the time like Jovy Salonga and  Sonny Alvarez in the U.S. by long distance, with the statements quickly gobbled up by national news correspondents in the group — myself, Guevarra and Celebria, for print organizations. Because of this, major headlines on the political landscape regularly carried the dateline, “Iloilo”. The name “Bombo Radyo” soon became a common term in news dispatches in the national and international scenes. Florete didn’t mind paying huge phone bills to bring the big story to the country, and Iloilo was where it was happening. Basbano was the author of this paradigm shift that launched Bombo Radyo to become a major player in the broadcast industry despite its being “probinsiyano”.

Now, a quarter of a century later, Basbano is back on the media limelight, this time after he was re-elected as President of the prestigious Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP). The presidency of this organization used to be a monopoly of Manila-based radio networks like DZRH, DZMM and DZBB. It took Basbano, a “promdi” to break that tradition and demonstrate that a broadcaster from Iloilo can play in the big league. Basbano has apparently earned the trust and respect of his peers, and obtained this singular honor of being re-elected to a second term. This is the product of hard work, dedication and commitment on the part of Basbano.

Why Syjuco is so afraid of Boy Mejorada

TESDA secretary Augusto Boboy Syjuco is a behemoth when it comes to politics. An astute marketing man, he has succeeded in fooling the people of the 2nd district of Iloilo to give him a congressional seat in 1998, and then hand it over to his wife, Judy Jalbuena Syjuco, who ran unopposed in 2004. With the personal and government resources at his disposal, it is hard to imagine the Syjucos being afraid of being challenged in an election. But the Syjucos are trembling with fear, and that’s because the handwriting is becoming clearer and clearer on the wall — they are on the way to tumbling down from power by May 2010.

This fear is the reason Boboy Syjuco, the wicked genius in this conjugal political power, is pouring his every effort to get rid of his enemies. He is working hard to avoid having to confront a legitimate opponent in the elections, and seek to hold on to a congressional seat for another three years. I represent one of the biggest threats to their continued hold on 2nd district politics. No, it’s  not because I have tons of money to buy votes the way they do. What I have is a vast arsenal of issues to be thrown against them, each fatal and guaranteed to bring them down in an election.

Syjuco has exhausted his bag of tricks. It will never happen that he or Judy will run unopposed. If I can’t run as he is desperately trying to achieve through legal maneuvers, then I will work twice as hard to support the candidate of the Liberal party.  One thing is guaranted — the era of the Syjucos is over. After June 30, 2010, the couple can just pack their bags and live as if nothing happened in their Forbes Park residence. They will go down in history as the most reviled and mocked couple in the 2nd district.

Liberal Party shifts gears to ride on “yellow tidal wave”

There is no question that majority of Filipinos have reached a decision on who will be the next President and Vice President of the Republic , and about the only thing left to be done is make sure voters are able to manifest their will in the May 2010 elections, former Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, LP chairperson, said today, Nov. 5.

Speaking before over 80 delegates to the LP Visayas General Assembly at the Westown Hotel, Drilon said at no other time in his entire political career has he witnessed an overwhelming display of support for Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to become the next President and Senator Mar Roxas as Vice President.

“Survey after survey have shown that Noynoy Aquino is consistently hitting the 50% mark, a commanding lead no other presidential contender ever achieved in the past,” Drilon said as he urged Liberal Party leaders in Regions 6,7 and 8 to organize and put in place an “effective delivery system.”

As a tandem, Senators Aquino and Roxas notched a higher 60% in a nationwide survey, a clear indication that the LP team has already clinched the elections.

Drilon said not even Aquino’s mother, the late President Cory Aquino, came close to the level of popularity that the Liberal Party standard bearer is enjoying right now, notwithstanding the fact that he is a newcomer to the presidential race and has not yet actively promoted his platform.

“We have the grassroots support, and it is incumbent upon us to translate this support into votes,” he said.

Drilon revealed a survey conducted by the Random Access Consultants, Inc. (RACI) that placed Aquino at 38.4% in the whole province, followed by Senator Manny Villar at 23.4% and Chiz Escudero at 4.8% as an example of this massive outpouring of support for the Liberal Party standard bearer.

For vice president, Roxas garnered 52.8% while incumbent vice president Noli de Castro got 12.1%, Loren Legarda at 8.3% and 24% were still undecided.

The survey was conducted during the period Oct. 14-20 among 1,200 respondents, with a margin of error of plus/minus 3%.

The Visayas assembly picked the delegates for the three regions to attend the LP National Convention in Manila on Nov. 16.

The assembly adopted a resolution expressing its full support for Senator Noynoy Aquino as Liberal Party presidential candidate and Senator Mar Roxas as vice presidential bet.

In his message, Drilon said he can only describe the public’s support and acceptance of Aquino as “phenomenal”.

He narrated how, during the installation of Archbishop Soc Villegas in Dapugan, the entire Cathedral “exploded into a thunderous applause” when Aquino came up to the altar to greet the new prelate.

“Senator Manny Villar and I had gone up before him, and the crowd didn’t even stir a bit,” he said. “But when Noynoy rose and climbed up the altar, the crowd literally cheered him,” he added.

Drilon reminded the LP leaders in the Visayas that organizational support is needed to consolidate the gains and ensure the victory of its candidates for national and local positions.