It’s very seldom that I get calls from plain citizens late at night, and I was pleasantly surprised a few nights ago when a senior citizen from Pavia called me up at home to let me know about her anger and disgust about the unfair commentary she heard from Roger Gencianeo of Bombo Radyo in the “Zona Libre” program earlier that evening.
“Pardon my difficulty in speaking because I am hooked to an oxygen tank,” she started. “But I had to call you and let you know about the one-sided and untruthful broadcast made by Roger Gencianeo about your qualifications as provincial administrator.”
As I gathered it, Gencianeo had attacked me on his program, claiming that I had no right to stay a minute longer in my position because of the Supreme Court ruling dismissing my appeal on the exclusion case filed by TESDA secretary Augusto Syjuco that led to the removal of my name as registered voter of Barangay Amparo, Pavia, Iloilo.
This has been going on for three nights, and my caller, who has known me as a regular and familiar figure in Barangay Amparo for more than 25 years now, decided she’s had enough of these lies. She called up Bombo Radyo to dispute the statements of Roger Gencianeo.
She was fuming mad.
Well, I listened to her and gave her time to vent her anger.
Then, I told her the truth about Roger Gencianeo.
“Don’t waste your energy and time on Roger Gencianeo,” I gently told her. “He’s a paid propagandist working for the political enemies of the Tupas administration. It’s his job to demolish Governor Tupas and myself.”
This surprised the caller. All her life, she had thought that all broadcasters are supposed to be fair, truthful and objective. She understood the power of media, particularly radio, and she felt that only those who adhered to the media code of ethics should be allowed to handle radio programs. She had no inkling that corruption had penetrated the ranks of mainstream media, and supposedly level-headed, objective and fair individuals could broadcast over the airlanes.
That’s the ideal, I said. But the sad reality is that politics has eroded the credibility of media, because many political figures make use of “guns-for-hire” in the media industry to destroy the names and character of their enemies. Roger Gencianeo is one of those “guns-for-hire”. Two other broadcasters, Rhod Tecson and Novie Guazo, also belong to the same category.
Roger Gencianeo works for a media racket operated by another black propagandist, Florence Hibionada. Their clients include board member Richard Garin and Rolex Suplico. This group includes a few other characters in media who pretend to be professional journalists, but are actually “wolves in sheep’s clothing”, preying on government officials and business people targeted by their clients for demolition. But Roger is part of a triumvirate along with Tecson and Guazo. Unknown to the management of Bombo Radyo, the three are as close as when they were together in the Florete radio outfit. They are bound by an umbilical chord: money.
This is the reason anybody who listens to Roger will easily notice that the Tupas administration is a favorite whipping boy. At every opportunity, Roger will pounce upon Governor Tupas and Boy Mejorada. But he has never, never ever, attacked the Garins, his major patrons through Hibionada. Neither has he attacked Suplico despite the latter’s critical missteps and misdemeanors. Listen to him, and then listen to Tecson and Guazo, and one can detect a common agenda: destroy the image of Governor Tupas and Boy Mejorada.
Roger does not even pretend to have any fairness or objectivity left. When it comes to castigating Governor Tupas or myself, all rules of ethical journalism are thrown aside. He is like a Doberman given an order to attack; his fangs glisten, his saliva dribbles down his throat, ferocious without mercy, unmindful that he is destroying the reputation and character of people. Naturally, he gets rewarded each time he snarls and bites Tupas and myself. He gets to meet Hibionada for breakfast at McDonald’s at the Atrium, where his handler pats him in the back and hands him a bone, nay an envelop, for the “good work”.
Hence, it would be useless to expect any ethical behavior from a paid propagandist like Roger. He has to support his fetishes, that’s why. He cannot enjoy the luxury of going to the beauty parlor with his salary alone. What he doesn’t know is that even in Bombo Radyo, where he is the assistant station manager, co-workers secretly call him “manay”.
Roger is also a traitor in the Bombo organization. His loyalty belongs to Florence, Tecson and Guazo. Once, he sent a text message obviously intended for Tecson and Guazo to leak information about matters discussed during a staff meeting at Bombo. By mistake, he sent the message to a co-worker at Bombo. He doesn’t know it, but the other broadcasters at Bombo know his secret personality.
My advice to well-meaning friends and supporters who are angered and agitated whenever they hear broadcasts made by Roger, just change the number on your radio dial and listen to other stations instead. Don’t waste a single minute listening to garbage. Roger is only earning his ticket for the next trip to the beauty parlor!
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