 reunion held at the Studio 1 Plaza of the compound in Quezon City){kind=link}
THE RECENT ABS-CBN Integrated News and Current Affairs Department (INCAD) reunion held at the Studio 1 Plaza of the compound in Quezon City was a cornucopia of anything less nostalgic, fun, and friendly.
I was an attendee as an original “TV Patrol”’s field reporter, writer, Voice-Over (VO), standupper and associate producer of the segment “Star News” being produced and anchored by Angelique Lazo for years. Prior to “TV Patrol,” I was already a fixture of the ABS-CBN Newsroom, still, for Angelique’s arts, entertainment and culture news bits. I was already on coverage with a cameraman, a VTR man, a driver for its former six o-clock newscast “Balita Ngayon,” a few months after the EDSA Revolution that sent the dictator to exile in Hawaii.
Because “Star News” was under staff, I was requested by Angelique to look for other reporters and writers to make up the team so I asked the late Mario V. Dumaual (at the time a fellow member of the Malayang Kilusan ng mga Manunulat Laban sa Yabang at Abuso or MAKINILYA which I founded with colleagues JC Nigado, Mike Feria, Lulubelle Lam Ramos, Nitz Miralles, Jocelyn Dino, among others) and Joel Saracho (an editor in Jose Burgos, Jr.’s Masa, a broadsheet in Filipino) to join in.
Jik, Angelique’s nickname, got Francis O. Villacorta who happened to be a movie columnist for Miscellaneous Magazine where he wrote about Angelique as a cover girl.
The team was complete. Mario, Francis and I were reporters while Joel was the Head Writer.
“STAR NEWS” TEAM
During my stint in the newsroom, there were a lot of colorful stories on and off-cam that were the subjects of conversations open and hush, speeches, tete-a-tetes etc. among the attendees like Lazo herself, Joel, Olive Villafuerte, Gretchen Ocampo-Recto, Marc Logan, Anna Marie Balane Fudaranan, Tere Romano, Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan, Bodjie Gonzales, Jess Alcantara, Erwin Tulfo, Katherine de Castro, Carmelita “Twinkle” Valdez, Reggie Flores, Ariel Nepomuceno, Carrie Jose, Jing Castaneda, Obette Serrano, Teddy Boy Locsin, Marie Mamawal, Charie Villa, Myrna Castro de la Torre, Gus Abelgas etc.
There were more than three hundred of us during the event.
It was Jik who mentioned the reunion to me and added my name to the KAPAMILYA 4-EVER Group Chat so I was able to monitor every single movement of the gathering.
I came all the way from San Pedro City, Laguna after I got through with my deadlines for broadsheets, tabloids, news online etc.
It rained hard when I went down the MRT Quezon Avenue, walked to the tricycle hub, got into one trike which wasn’t allowed to pass through the whole Sgt. Esguerra Avenue strip which occupied the front yard of ABS-CBN and the driver was pissed off. “Wala namang sinasabi sa amin, bakit sarado (There’s no advisory for us why it’s closed?),” observed the tricycle driver but I batted in. “May event, reunion ng mga taga-(There’s a reunion of people from the) News and Current Affairs,” I said which pacified him.
We rerouted instead to Samar Avenue to ELJ Drive, the former Scout Albano, right at the Audience Entrance of ABS-CBN.
After registration and owning up a small green “Batang ABS-CBN” t-shirt, I went up the hall near the garden where the lunch was served but I didn’t care to eat as I had my lunch at home to be sure I wouldn’t miss it on time as it was already past two in the afternoon.
A TIGHT HUG FROM CHARIE VILLA
As I looked to the reception table, guess who was smiling at me with eyes widely popping out? Who else but Charie who said she came all the way from Lipa City in Batangas where she has a farm.
Charie and I hugged tightly as we’ve not seen for ages.
Then Regino Flores, better known as Reggie Flores of the former “Magandang Gabi, Bayan,” “Balitang K,” “Rated K,” etc. kissed me and handed me a Coco Gents box of wellness tubes and bar soaps. Saracho greeted me with my recent 6th Empowered Men and Women of the Philippines which just made me acknowledge it and smiled. Twinkle, news reporter and Myrna, ex-producer of “TV Patrol,” “Knowledge Power” etc. shared the same table where I shared for a moment as I hopped from one table to the other looking for familiar faces during my time. News correspondent Mariel Gazeta, formerly from Channel 4 saw and jubilantly took a selfie with me.
It was nostalgia all over again in the four walls of ABS-CBN. I remembered my finest hour as a TV broadcaster with such stories, scoops and hot stories like Melanie Marquez giving birth to Michelle Marquez Dee, interviewing Lea Salonga for his “Miss Saigon” stint in West End, foraying into Maricel Soriano paying a visit to Edu Manzano on the set of the film “Eagle Squad” when the two weren’t confirming their romance yet, getting an exclusive menage-a-trois between sisters Margie and Nina Sara and lover, actor Mel Francisco etc.
At the John, I introduced myself to someone fixing up in the mirror. He was wearing a red “Batang ABS-CBN” tee who turned out to be Ariel Nepomuceno, a former “MGB” staff.
DOLPHY THEATER EXUDES NOSTALGIA
When I entered Dolphy Theater where the program was held, other memories flooded my mind. It used to be the live studio for “Katalog-Pinggan,” a noontime variety show of the station which starred Pinky Marquez etc. It was also the studio where Edu beamed his late-night show. It was the whole compound where I scouted guests for our daily show “CinemaScoop” with the still missing TV host, talent manager, entertainment journalist and star builder Boy C. de Guia when we ran out of stars to be interviewed to fill the gaps in the show. I was moonlighting for Kuya (a term of endearment to an elder brother or man by blood or affinity) Boy’s entertainment show, a pre-programming of “TV Patrol.” Mario and I had to comb every nook and cranny of the network looking for news.
As a working press, though, I would always get to the Theater for presscons and other gigs.
I already left ABS-CBN to establish my theater group DUMALO (Dulaang Don Mateo Lopez)—a community theater org in Lopez, Quezon—when it was constructed. Movie scribes Obette and Roland Lerum replaced me in “Star News.”
In the program itself emceed by Marc Logan and Pia Hontiveros, a lot of colorful tales of all sorts were unearthed onstage. According to Erwin who forked out P50,000.00 to be raffled off among the attendees, when he was still a reporter, a destitute person approached and asked for money from him. “I didn’t have money at the time so I borrowed from someone else just to give to the poor soul,” he recalled.
SENATOR ERWIN AND A DESTITUTE PERSON
When Charie’s turn to speak came, she mentioned a discussion about her fellow broadcasters Korina Sanches and Julius Babao’s current ticklish issue on journalists allegedly getting “perks” from interviews. Before she went down, though, she teased Erwin. “Hoy, Erwin, nabayaran mo na ba ‘yong utang mo (did you already pay your debts?)” which elicited guffaws from the audience.
Former Press Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin of the Cory administration admitted he was poor in the vernacular but still, Noli de Castro encouraged him to go on which he passed with flying colors in the end as his “The Assignment” rated highly on the charts.
Marie Mamawal, former Executive Producer of “MGB” has loads of stories to tell. She didn’t spare the talks about Angelique going out on dates with the gorgeous Manny Ayala or the love story between Noli and Arlene Sinsuat de Castro.
Tony Velasquez disclosed that he was once rejected an employment application by ABS-CBN but came back to the company a decade after and got accepted.
Carrie talked about many amusing and amazing stories about producing “Hoy! Gising.”
To pay tribute to those who have gone to rest among news personnel, a rundown was screened…Eugenio Lopez, Jr., also known as the Kapitan, Angelo Castro, Jr., Kristina Luz, Mario Garcia, Lito de Loyola, Bert Salonga etc.
I said hello to Pia who was standing near me, smiling at me while waiting for Gretchen to end her speech and giving me a cheek-to-cheek.
I remember it was Pia who observed that Dumaual and I as entertainment broadcast reporters had maintained a low profile in the newsroom. “Bakit kayo ni Mario, mas seryoso kesa sa aming mga reporter sa ibang (Why are you and Mario, were more serious than us in our) beats?” she wondered.
PIA PINCH-HITS FOR ANGELIQUE
Hontiveros was once pinch-hitting for Angelique in the “Star News” news reading.
Katherine de Castro said she spent most of her growing years in the newsroom.
Yes, I remember when she was just a kid, I always saw her when mom Arlene would bring her to the office.
De Castro has many memories, happy and sad with ABS-CBN News. She thanked all those people she worked with.
Former ABS-CBN President Freddie M. Garcia sent an inspiring speech read by Ronnie Cruz.
Laughter, fun and excitement dominated the hallways of the Star Network and inside the Dolphy Theater.
Group photos, selfies and candid snaps ruled the camaraderie of the then and now prime movers of the department.
Francis Toral, the Senior Vice President of INCAD proudly welcomed everyone and reminisced the good ole’ days of the newsroom when she was just starting in it in the 90s.
The reunion got Lumang Tao (old staff as in veteran)” and “Bagong Tao (new staff)” of the INCAD together.
In the GC KAPAMILYA 4-EVER, a lot of its members (based in the Philippines and globally) wanted to attend the event but they had previous commitments.
Erstwhile INCAD Manager Ging Reyes was in the US during the momentous affair but she sent an encouraging video greeting as well.
The present day has a lot of things to say about the “old” and “new” people of INCAD, a division which has expanded through years to include the Interactive or news online.
Where are they now?
Angelique is now a newscaster and public affairs show host at People’s Television (PTV) Channel 4; Joel is still an active writer and showbiz analyst while dabbles in acting on film, TV and stage; Olive, a former news honcho at ABS-CBN and Channel 5 is a Member-at-Large and Chairperson of the Girls Scout of the Philippines (GSP) National Equipment Services Committee; Gretchen is still with the Bahay Kalinga, the TV program of ABS-CBN Foundation; Marc is running a weekly show at TV6; Anna Marie is now retired from the broadcast industry; Tere is still busy as a broadcaster; Pia said she’s busy with a lot of things outside the media; Bodjie is still a VTR editor in the news department; Jess has retired from camera work; Erwin is now as senator; Katherine is head of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA); Twinkle is an active news hen while being an officer of Samahang Plaridel, a media organization; Reggie still works for Korina; Ariel is the new Commissioner at the Bureau of Customs; Carrie has retired but manages her family business; Jing is still in the media business; Obette is still a freelance movie writer; Teddy Boy is still active in the diplomatic works as Philippine envoy to the United Kingdom; Marie is an active multimedia practitioner and an educator; Myrna is with Prime TV; Gus is with TV5 etc.
One of the highlights of the reunion was the human formation of the iconic logo of ABS-CBN where Pia directed the shoots at the Sgt. Esguerra Avenue.
At this time, Noli went out for a while, mobbed by past and present news and current affairs people before he went on air for “TV Patrol.”
Despite a short get-together with colleagues, de Castro managed to be at the center of the human ABS-CBN logo.
It was joyful and poignant.
Mirthful because of seeing each other again after eons and haunting because the symbol of unity among ABS-CBN people in the service of the Filipinos worldwide, the renowned tower and the original grounds will soon be gone.
Aside from Pia, the other organizer of the Balik-Tahanan Reunion of the Lumang Tao and Batang ABS-CBN were Dennis Villoso, Bernard Peralta, may Purificacion, Billy Jarlego, Engelbert Apostol etc.