Last night, the news was interrupted by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's admission that she was the one in the infamous Hello Garci wiretapped phone conversation.

Full text:

Mga minamahal kong kababayan.

For the last several weeks, the issue of the tape recordings has spun out of control. Tonight, I want to set the record straight. You deserve an explanation from me, because you are the people I was elected to serve.

As you recall, the election canvassing process was unnecessarily slow even after the election results were already in and the votes had been counted.

I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many people, including a Comelec official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election, and it did not. As I mentioned, the election had already been decided and the votes counted. And as you remember, the outcome had been predicted by every major public opinion poll and adjudged free, fair and decisive by international election observers, and our own Namfrel.

That said, let me tell you how I personally feel. I recognize that making any such call was a lapse in judgment. I'm sorry. I also regret taking so long to speak before you on this matter. I take full responsibility for my actions and to you and to all those good citizens who may have had their faith shaken by these events. I want to assure you that I have redoubled my efforts to serve the nation and earn your trust.

Nagagambala ako. Maliwanag na may kakulangan sa wastong pagpapasya ang nangyaring pagtawag sa telepono. Pinagsisisihan ko ito nang lubos. Pinananagutan ko nang lubusan ang aking mga ginawa, at humihingi ako ng tawad sa inyo, sa lahat ng mga butihing mamamayan na nabawasan ng tiwala dahil sa mga pangyayaring ito. Ibig kong tiyakin sa inyo na lalo pa akong magsisikap upang maglingkod sa bayan at matamo ang inyong tiwala.

I took office with a mandate to carry out a plan for the nation. Since that time, I have focused on making the tough but necessary decisions to make up for years of economic neglect. We passed a comprehensive, fiscally responsible national budget; raised new and necessary revenues to reinvest in the people; and implemented new anticorruption measures that have led to the highest collection of taxes in history.

Nothing should stand in the way of this work, or the next phase of my reform agenda, which includes new investments in education and social services with our new revenues; and an expansion of our successful anticorruption and lifestyle checks.

That is why I want to close this chapter and move on with the business of governing.

I ask each and every one of you to join hands with me in a show of unity, to help forge One Philippines, where everyone is equal under the law, and where everyone has the opportunity to use their God-given talents to make a better life.

Our nation is strong and getting stronger. The progress is steady and I ask you to walk with me on this journey to rebuild our great nation. I remain your humble servant and promise you that I will fulfill my constitutional oath of office to serve the people to the best of my ability.

God Bless the Philippines.

Get the transcript of the tapes here.

So has anyone seen Encantadia? They've touted the production design so much..any comments?

From fantaseryes like Mulawin and Krystala, Pinoy TV now shifts to local Pinoy superheroes. Darna, starring Angel Locsin as the Philippines' first television Darna, is already showing on GMA 7 while Panday, starring Jericho Rosales is currently in production. Panday seems to be floundering a bit while looking for a replacement for Echo's original wife in the series, Melissa Ricks, but the final outcome will show whether in the battle for television ratings, Darna or Panday will rule.

What's currently inside our pinoy tv landscape?

Korean dramas, for one. They have supplanted their Taiwanese predecessors, and have been more present. Endless Love (has there been 2 or three seasons?), Lavender, and the current hit Lovers in Paris, to name a few.

Game shows are..back? Pilipinas, Game KNB is back. Kris Aquino is still in the driver's seat, but the timeslot has been shifted to noontime. This will be followed by the soon to be launched Wowowie, to be hosted by former ABS-CBN persona non grata Willie Revillame, who returned to the fold after he reportedly further boosted Extra Challenge's ratings when he guested there.

Speaking of Wowowie, looks like ABS-CBN has given up on fighting Eat Bulaga headon. The Eat Bulaga phenomenon is really hard to beat, and perhaps even hard to explain. It has the same raucous jokes, sexy girls parading, games, and whatnot, that all other noontime shows have, and yet the combination of the hosts and how they handle the segments maybe make all the difference. For whatever the reason, Eat Bulaga has been reigning supreme on the noontime slot for 25 years now, and sees no signs of fading.

TV Patrol World. After years of topping the ratings for news with TV Patrol, this has apparently been displaced by Mike Enriquez's and Mel Tiangco's 24 Oras. Korina Sanchez was kicked out, and replaced by Karen Davila, Ted Failon, and Julius Babao. I still don't like their manner of reportage, wish we could be more BBC like. No need to shout, folks. Anyhoo, they claim to be more worldwide, has a Citizen Patrol segment, and a Ronda Patrol segment, where reporters get the news of whatever happens to the police beat they joined. Not really finding the news inasmuch as just getting what happens to be there. Still too much focus on sensationalizing crimes, in my opinion.

Fantaseryes. ABS-CBN is totally affected by the success of GMA-7's Mulawin, and have come up with another flying hero in the person of Judy Ann Santos as Krystala. Meanwhile, Claudine Barretto's Marina has already wrapped up.

Star search reality programs. Starstruck and Star Circle Quest are looking for teen stars..they don't necessarily have talent, but for some reason, fans like 'em, so the networks will keep 'em coming. We've already gotten survivors, avengers, questors, Final Four, Fab Five times two as those shows are already in their second show. More talent-oriented are shows like Pinoy Pop Superstar (a reincarnation of Search for a Star and Star for a Night. Footnote: Regine's show's title seems to change annually. Under what name will it come out next season, I wonder?), Star in a Million, Born Diva.

Anything else I missed?

It has been proven once again that Philippine TV is also quite capable of producing award-winning programs in the international arena. More recently, Probe Productions' 5 and Up received the Best Youth Program award from the 2001 Asian TV Awards. This is an international award body that picks the most worthy show throughout the region. It is of course an honor that some of our programs have been deemed worthy of their accolade.

Meanwhile, here is a list of other Asian TV awardees from the Philippines.

• Broadcaster of the year: Both ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation and GMA Network were highly commended.


• Channel of the year: ABS-CBN (Runner-up), GMA Network (Highly commended)


• Best single drama or telemovie: Maalala Mo Kaya: Wedding Ring (Winner), ABS-CBN; GMA Telecine Special: Umaga, Tanghali, Gabi (Runner-up)


• Best drama series: Pangako Sa `Yo (Runner-up), ABS-CBN


• Best entertainment special: A Christmas Prayer (Winner), ABS-CBN


• Best news or current affairs special: Saksi sa Kasaysayan (Winner), GMA Network


• Best music program: A.S.A.P. (Highly commended), ABS-CBN

So did anyone get to watch ABS-CBN's Magkapamilya ABS-CBN at 50 special? I only got to see bits and pieces of the making yesterday, but unfortunately, due to my schedule, I was unable to catch the actual show. Part 2 will be next Sunday, I think.

If anyone has any feedback (or a video tape, for that matter!), kindly send them along my way. I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Happy 50th anniversary, Pinoy TV!!!

GMA Network says it will keep 'Probe Team' show

However, while they're giving that statement now, if you read further, you'll see that GMA-7 is definitely giving themselves a lot of leeway to protect themselves if and when they do decide to cancel the show prematurely.

"A co-production agreement with two groups is like a partnership," Gozon said. "It is based on mutual trust and confidence. When the standards are different, this will affect the image of the two and it is no longer advisable or desirable to continue."

On whether this was censorship or not, GMA president Felipe Gozon had this to say:

GMA Network aired the show last Tuesday with some changes. "We wanted them to put in more supporting data so their conclusion can stand," Gozon said. "Is that censorship?"

"We have the power to destroy a person's reputation," he said. "We can make the reputation of a person very good or very bad. Before you destroy a reputation, you should have basis. We would rather err in good faith. At least we tried."

"The objective is to have a balanced and responsible delivery of news," Gozon added.

KBP to GMA 7: Don't let rulings taint your view.

The KBP seems to have hit the nail on the head with this. I don't think GMA is withdrawing from the KBP because they don't agree with the KBP's thrusts anymore, but because of the rulings they've had, e.g., the one with Rosanna Roces.

However, having said that, I can't blame GMA for feeling like that, not when there's a basis for feeling that the rulings are unfair.

'Probe Team' fears axing; Nothing final yet: network

This was the headline in today's Philippine Daily Inquirer. Apparently, the Probe Team had an episode regarding the lifestyle check for the Pagcor chair, Ephraim Genuino. With Probe's contract with GMA set to expire on January, the move to axe the show after a controversial show smells suspiciously of censorship. Is GMA guilty of censorship?

Adboard to discuss GMA-7 withdrawal from KBP

Antonio Cojuangco group to buy ABC-5 for P5B: sources

Another change of hands for the ABC network? I wonder how this will play out.

Single: A Review

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a press release in the newspaper announcing a new reality based tv show about to launch in Manila. Due to curiosity, I decided to catch the premiere episode.

Broadcast over ABC-5, Single's concept is to follow the single guy who will be chosen out of their three candidates, on his dating adventures. The show's twist, according to the press release, is its interactivity, wherein the guys will be given feedback through text messages about what he should or should not do. In fact, the guy will be chosen based on the amount of text votes that he initially gets.

So who are the guys? Joel Trinidad is a theater actor, Marvel Julian is an assistant director, and Lee Espino is a model. Last night's 30-minute show followed them around in their natural environment, presumably to introduce the characters to the viewing public. All of them, according to the show, are willing to be documented for the next few weeks, and will be given their shot at "stardom."

My take on the first episode? Humdrum. While it did do its job of introducing the guys, it didn't do a good job at introducing the show itself. In my opinion, they weren't able to layout the rules that will set the tone for the next few episodes. Perhaps they'd do so when the single guy has been chosen, but it would have been better to establish it in the premiere. An unobstrusive host/voiceover who can guide us will help as well.

The guys, and the peripheral characters as well, were a bit too conscious of the camera as well. It felt like a lot of the things said and done were put on. I could imagine why, though, because if you follow a person around with no real tasks or anything, they would act the same way as the guys did last night. But still, whoever will be chosen should not mind the camera, and just act naturally. Personally, I think the only time that they should talk directly TO the camera is when they have an interview/confessional type thing going on. Otherwise, just do whatever you need to do.

The show is obviously quite low-budgeted, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, having a low budget doesn't excuse them from bad production values. Frankly, they need to train their cameramen more, make better edit cuts, and improve their audio system as well. Why? Let me count the ways.

Video. Each guy, apparently, only has one cameramen assigned to him. Thus, whenever the shot shifts from him to the person he's talking to, the cameraman has to make quick pans. This could be accomplished well if the cameramen are gifted. However, the quick pans result in dizzying on-air break shots that are blurred, defocused, and have awkward shot compositions. (Side note: When I was in school, it was impressed to us that on-air break shots are a no-no and would merit in a failing mark for that production. Watching the show last night made me realize exactly why.) There were too many shots of people whose heads had been cut off, or focused on weird body parts that were obviously not deliberate. In fact, the show has the feel of an amateur holding a videocam, following his friend around, trying to create a home movie, not a made for TV broadcast.

Audio. The audio quality, for the most part, is acceptable. However, there were some auditory distractions that took away some points. First, when Lee was talking on the cellphone, you could hear the telltale hum of the signal interference, which was quite loud. Second, when they were at a cafe outside, the background noise just muffled the audio of the guy. Props to them, though, for giving subtitles for the readers to understand what he's saying. Clearer audio, however, would be better. Third, some interviews were held at a place that was just bad for the audio, resulting in a cavernous Batcave-like echo. A better choice of interview location would be appreciated. Fourth, you could actually hear the microphone being fiddled with, whether deliberately or not.

On the plus side, though, I love their theme song, performed by this band called Stonefree. And, I got to see my old college when Marvel was onscreen. Eye-candy factor? 3.25 out of 5. However, Single still needs a lot of improvement, both conceptually and technically. I hope we see those improvements soon.

Single is broadcast over ABC-5 every Thursday, at 9:30 pm.

I always knew it was only a matter of time before Manila inaugurates a reality tv show. On May 23, Single will be launched on ABC 5, a show that will purportedly chronicle one guy's adventures on dating here in Manila. I imagine that it will be something like the concept of The Bachelor. The production company is lucky that it hasn't been shown in Manila, lest the local public immediately recognize their show as a copycat. Will the show be a hit? Honestly, I might tune in just to see how they execute the series. I'll let you know if I get hooked.

GMA 7 takes a more proactive stance in their competition with ABS-CBN.

klasmeyts: a mini-review

I watched Klasmeyts, ABS-CBN's latest offering on the boob tube tonight. It is on its third week, I think, so I decided to see whether the hype that the network has been trying to pump has at least some sort of basis. They are propping it up as a live comedy skit show , a la SNL, I suppose. It is topbilled by Paolo Contis, Bayani Agbayani, Michael Flores, Keempee de Leon, and Herbert Bautista.

The show is not entirely live, of course. There are pretaped skits, interspersed with the live *antics,* if you can call it that, of the five mainstays. The live parts are mainly of them standing around in the set, talking to each other, and shooting their mouths off whatever topic. One of the live segments also included an interview with Joyce Jimenez, which served to tittilate the male part of their viewers. In fact, most of the show seemed geared to the male population. As is the case with most of the comedy shows here, scantily clad girls are part of the decoration. Regardless of whether they know how to act or not, they're there for eye-candy.

Speaking of acting, there was nothing spectacularly comedic about the actors there. Some might have a few funny moments, but for the most part, they just seem to be trying too hard. The jokes and gags on the different skits feel tired. They've been done and rehashed in various shows. Going Bananas/Bad Bananas, Tropang Trumpo, and Bubble Gang come to mind. The jokes have been passed on from person to person before that; whether by people casually joking around, joke books, or e-mail.

There is still a lot of room for improvement for this show. Hopefully, the writers, and everyone else involved with this show, will realize it despite the loud ring of self-congratulatory applause in their own network.

Local hosts and shows get recognition at the New York TV Festival.

• Arnold Clavio's Emergency was a finalist in the Best Public Affairs Program


• Vicki Morales was nominated in the social issues category for the I-Witness episode, Sabah.


• A report coverage by Howie Severino about journalists caught in the crossfire in Southern Mindanao was cited for breaking news coverage. The report was broadcast via The Probe Team.


• Che-che Lazaro was awarded the silver medal in the social issues/current affairs category I-Witness for her report, "Bahay na Pula."



• GMA's Sunday noontime variety show, SOP, was a finalist for the Best Variety category.


• Mel and Jay was cited in the best talk/interview category.



• Meanwhile, the Mutya ng Pilipinas 2001 pageant was finalist for best variety special.

Update on the History of Philippine Television

First and foremost, I would like to thank Ed Ching for some valuable information regarding some updates on the history of Philippine television.

Ed, a 36-year-old bank officer, and MBA holder from the De La Salle University, has been interested in media since he was in grade school. Due to his interest, he has noted historical observations partly from experience, and mostly through research. He writes:

"In my opinion, EDSA has resumed what I believe was an interruption in the growth of media during the Martial Law years. It was in 1992 that local media really boomed, both on radio and especially television, with the expansion of the free channel choices to the higher UHF band. What started the present media composition was made during this time. In a way, I
became a witness to these openings. Here is a summary of the expansion of local television from 1992 onwards:

Feb. 21, 1992 - ABC Channel 5 was formally inaugurated in their all
new studio complex in Novaliches Quezon City.

Feb. 21, 1992 - ABC Channel 21 Cebu becomes the first local UHF TV
station in the country.

May, 1992 - Southern Broadcasting Network of Davao launched SBN Channel
21, the first local UHF TV station in Metro Manila. It was then known as
World TV 21. The idea is to bring back programming similar to the forceably
shut down FEN Channel 17 of the former Clark US Air Base a year earlier due
to the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.

May, 1992 - Ermita Electronics Corp. launched the country's first UHF TV
station fully devoted to rebroadcasting a foreign satellite channel
with the then STAR-TV- controlled MTV Asia on Channel 23.

October 1992 - Byers Communications Corp. launches Intelvision 68 from a
transmitter in Antipolo City. It becomes the first UHF station to
introduce subscription TV. Its signals are encrypted in January. However, 6
months after, it folded up due to intense competition from cable.

August 1993 - Rajah Broadcasting Network became the first radio-based
network to launch a TV station called RJTV 29, with a part music video and part
home shopping format. It pioneered the first home shopping network in the
country.

Oct. 31, 1994 - Radio Mindanao Network became the second radio-based
network to launch a TV station called CTV31. It is also the first UHF station
to be inspired by the format of a cable movie channel.

July 1, 1995 - GMA Network Inc. launches Citynet 27, becoming the first
major radio-television network to operate a UHF TV station. It attempted to
broadcast programming from the old Martial Law GMA 7 days.

October 5, 1996 - ABS-CBN launches Studio 23, becoming the second major
radio-television network to operate a UHF TV station, and the first on
UHF to adopt a general programming format. Since their introduction, other
UHF stations never recovered in terms of ratings.

1997 - RJTV 29 became the first home of a new breed of local
televangelists and became a vehicle for a then obscure sect leader Bro. Eli Soriano to
become popular in their television program "Ang Dating Daan".

1999- Citynet 27 becomes EMC, the first locally programmed music video
channel. It later became Channel V Philippines when it struck an
agreement with STAR TV to localize the said music channel.

2000 - ETV 39 was launched, attempting to become the first free to air
gambling channel on UHF with the nightly Bingo Pilipino draws. It fizzled
out by late 2000 as former president Joseph Estrada banned its draws in
response to public clamor.

2000 - Eagle Broadcasting Corp. launches Net 25, the first free-to-air
documentary and technology channel inspired by Discovery Channel and
Tech TV. It becomes the third radio based network to launch a TV station.

January 1, 2001- MTV Asia becomes MTV Philippines, a localized version
of the all time favorite cable channel, through NBC UHF Channel 41. It was
the only MTV channel being localized and aired for free in an Asian
country.

April 26-30, 2001 - Net 25 became the first UHF station to broadcast a
political event from the opposition and the only station to broadcast
in full the infamous "Edsa Tres". The coverage was only stopped with an
order from the Iglesia ni Cristo upon the request of the government.

June 15, 2001 - Zoe TV Channel 11 gives up 95% of its programming to
CNBC Asia, making it the first VHF station to rebroadcast a foreign cable
channel. The country is the only one carrying the channel without any
subscription fee on a part-time basis.

July, 2001 - Channel V Philippines closes down because of conflict of
interest between the owners of GMA, which was then being considered by
PLDT, who handles MTV Philippines via NBC, one of its subsidiaries.

October, 2001 - After more than a year of test broadcasts, NU TV Channel
37 was formally launched as UNTV, the first alternative locally programmed
music video channel."

Thanks again, Ed!

I found a very insightful and obviously well-researched article by my college professor and thesis adviser, Ms. Josefina M.C. Santos, discussing globalisation, tradition, and its effect on Philippine television. In the article, she mentions the four types of programmes present in Philippine TV programming today that have symbiotic relationships. She mentions telenovelas, animes, Magandang Tanghali Bayan, and Hoy Gising, among others.

While ABS-CBN is undeniably the largest and most profitable broadcasting corporation in the Philippines today, there is trouble brewing in the ranks. Talents are dismayed at the current situation at the Mother Ignacia studio. Will the show go on at ABS-CBN?