Sunday, August 19, 2007 Dacawi: ‘Mr. Country Gold’ signs off By Ramon Dacawi Benchwarmer
DZWT 540 and DZWR 99.9, the AM-FM sister stations of the Mountain Province Broadcasting Corp.(MPBC), can lay claim to being the folk and country music radio channels hereabouts.
For a recent while, Big FM, with its innovative, noisy and wild AM format, put up quite a promising competition. It, however, inflated its balloon with too much air and just burst.
Sammy Guerzon, who started out with now ‘Radyo ng Bayan’ DZEQ, contributed substantially to developing the present music format of MPBC. Understandably, some in the present crop of Baguio media hardly have a recollection of his achievements. They were too young then when Sammy was on air. Or they grew up with rock, pop, jazz and the blues to have a memory of him, even if he also served as president of the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club.
On Sunday mornings then, Cordillera's home radios would be tuned to Sammy’s “Country Gold” program. Handy cellphones were not yet invented, but he would be swamped with phone calls and fan mails. Most were requests for him to spin a piece that best reflected a listener’s emotional condition or affliction.
From Benguet’s wombok gardens and “camote” gold mines, Sammy's listenership spread out to the ricelands of Nueva Vizcaya. Even Filipino sailors on board ships wrote him, asking for songs to soothe heartaches for home.
Then came the rumor that then twin station manager Domie Pineda was keen on scrapping the country music format. It didn’t spread around, but the scuttlebutt persisted among fellow media practitioners.
Afraid to ask Domie, I told Sammy during a break to play Kenny Rogers' "Coward of the Country”. It's lovingly dedicated to Domie, I said.
In fairness to Domie, the rumor died. Don Mclean’s “American Pie” and country music continue to thrive, even after Sammy left. Domie later retired and joined another FM outfit for a while. He's back to law practice with retired City Prosecutor Erdolfo Balajadia, who's just been re-elected Baguio councilor.
Sammy himself got elected No.1 in the Benguet Provincial Board on his first try. His victory on top of the heap was palpable proof of the power of media or radio broadcast then. It validated the feel for folk and country, especially among farmers along Benguet’s rocky and muddy mountain trails.
On the other hand, his veteran counterparts in print - Manong Gerry Evangelista, Willy Cacdac, Peppot Ilagan and Steve Hamada – had bitter runs. They all failed in their bids for seats in the City Council.
Juan Tenorio, Sammy’s equally popular fellow WT anchor, would have made it, too, if only he ran in Benguet and not in Baguio. Tenorio, or “Long John for short”, was so popular in the province that some fans even came up with anecdotes matching his upbeat, impish humor on the air.
One story had it that a farmer from Buguias made a killing with his potato crop harvest. Setting his priorities right, he brushed aside the urge to rush to the casino in Angeles City. So he walked to the Tiongsan Department Store and pointed to the biggest transistor radio on the shelf.
“Kargaam man ti baterya na, ading," he asked the salesgirl. "Gatangek basta adda Tenorio na a."
Early the following morning, he was watering his cabbage and listening to Tenorio’s “kaliwan-liwa” ribbings on his brand new radio. Suddenly, rain started falling. He grabbed an umbrella with which he covered the transistor.
“Narigaten, baka matuduan ni Tenorio ket hangko madengngeg no bigat no mapanateng,” he thought aloud.
That Sunday morning after Sammy’s political victory, I almost hurled my own AC-DC radio on the wall. He was back on “Country Gold” all right, but he was not spinning a single record. For an hour, I listened to his voice. For an hour, he repeatedly thanked his constituency for their trust and faith in his legislative competence.
I would have done the same if I were in his shoes. But I was a fan, not a politician, a print journalist, not a radio celebrity. Still, I learned from Sammy and started feeding news live from the field for WT a year before I campaigned for a seat in the board of the Benguet Electric Cooperative. It worked because voters remembered me as "Patrol 25", my reporter's number assigned by writer-broadcaster Chris Bartolo.
‘Mr. Country Gold’, however, failed in his re-election bid for the Provincial Board. I was told it had something to do with his telling the truth, with his inability to lie. The story was that Sammy had cautioned Benguet farmers against using harmful preservatives like cyanide on their produce ready for the market. I was told they got back at him when he sought a second term.
If so, Sammy never learned that truth and politics often do not mix.
Today, local farmers continue to question why the country continues to import highland vegetables from China. They voice suspicions these imported farm produce might be laced with formaldehyde or other toxic preservatives as they look stunningly fresher than local veggies. It's a valid protest.
In the same token, Sammy was right to have cautioned our own farmers against throwing health and food standards to the winds for profit. As a reporter, he owed it to consumers to tell the truth. As their elected leader, he felt it right to tell them to produce right, also for their own industry's sake.
Last August 9, ‘Mr. Country Gold’ reported to the announcer's booth in the sky. He was laid to rest last Friday morning. Tenorio, Cacdac, Ilagan, Hamada, Freddie Mayo, George Jularbal and other media colleagues must have formed a reception line by the pearly gates.
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Our condolences, too, to the family of Manong Erning Dangatan of Liteng, Pacdal. A brother of punong barangay Luis Dangatan, he was buried early last Wednesday afternoon. Also to the Tugguinay-Bayangan clan of Tabuk, Kalinga for the loss of its patriarch, Jesus Tugguinay Sr. Few days before he passed on, I was in the new city and got a text from his son Joseph. “Visit my dad and meet his beautiful nurse,” Joseph advised.
