Saturday, July 26, 2008 Ong: Emerging radio programs By Ted Aldwin Ong Misreadings
NEW radio programs have recently emerged in the airwaves of Iloilo City. These programs offer alternative information as compared to existing radio commentaries carried out everyday by the so-called mainstream commentators from broadcast stations that are considerably on top of the ratings.
These new programs, on the other hand, do not differ in terms of format for they also tackle hot and significant local and national issues ranging from political, social, environmental, and even the religious. Unlike the rest, however, they are somewhat lighter when handling pressing issues and concerns for their discussions are mixed with wit, and conclusions are drawn from the direct experiences of people involved, from research materials, and from respected analysts in society today.
One of the programs can be heard everyday, not on the AM but on the FM band, under the frequency 100.7khz, home of the popular Z100. Anchored by one of Iloilo's veteran radio broadcaster, Ompoy Pastrana, this program is aired everyday from Monday to Saturday at 6:00 to 7:00 in the morning.
Titled "KBL" (not the defunct Kilusang Bagong Lipunan of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos), it stands for "Kalingawan, Balita, kag Lapdusanay sang mga isyu kag imporamasyon," a theme that many Hiligaynon-speaking provinces can relate with as against those that are purely Tagalog sounding.
This one-hour discussion is balanced by its co-anchor who is also a known local media personality - Jun Lujero. Adding kick and spice to the discussion is Alma Hadon, a blind item reporter that shares the latest and juiciest political gossip - the news behind every news item - or kocho-kocho.
The KBL program will soon tandem with its Bacolod partner handled by seasoned broadcaster Vic Mercado over DYRL 1035 in the AM band.
On the other, the listening public can also catch up alternative discussion on social issues late afternoon every Sunday over GMA Kapuso's radio station DYSI Super Radyo.
Under the frequency 1323khz, the weekly discussion is led by non-government organizations and managed by officers of Halad Media Collective, Inc., Iloilo Coalition of Non-Government Organizations and People's Organizations (ICON), and the Convention Baptist Ministers Association (CBMA).
Anchored by Rev. Edwin Lariza and Pastor Francis Niel Jalando-on, the program tackles the latest initiatives, innovations, and advocacies of civil society organizations on areas such as governance, environmental protection, micro-finance, private-public partnerships and other relevant issues of the day.
This is the program wherein the public could listen to an array of personalities who are working in the sphere of social development with the aim of uplifting the lives of our marginalized and vulnerable sectors.
A worthwhile segment on this program is handled by the CBMA, which relates the historical background, as well as the biblical implications and interpretations, of social events unfolding in our modern society today.
This column will provide early notices in order to guide our listeners on the incoming topics of discussions on these programs in the coming days. Likewise, these programs are interactive and listeners can join in the discussions through the phone or by sending text messages from their mobile phones.
I encourage our dear readers to visit the frequency of these stations and find for themselves how informative and helpful these programs are. (Comments to tao.kolumnista@gmail.com)
