Radyo5 Should Let Go of Punto Asintado

The post-Erwin Tulfo era in ‘Punto Asintado’ is off to an unimpressive start.

Nearly a month after Erwin Tulfo left TV5 on his own terms, the show that Erwin left behind is still searching for a permanent and regular host. At the moment, four different hosts have filled in on ‘Punto Asintado’.

They are:

• Mae Anne Los Baños
• Maricel Halili
• Alex Tinsay
• Atty. Mel Sta. Maria

Call it an unstable bunch. While the four hosts are willing and able to fill the chair, their other roles within and beyond News5 prevent them from hosting ‘Punto Asintado’ on a regular basis.

Alex Tinsay, for example, is also the host of ‘Aksyon Solusyon’ on weekdays and ‘Metro Sabado’ on Saturdays. He is also one of the hosts of ‘The 700 Club Asia’ on the GMA family of networks.

Atty. Mel Sta. Maria is the host of ‘Relasyon’ alongside Gladys Lana-Lucas (by default; original host Luchi Cruz-Valdes no longer appears on the show since June). He also fills in for Orly Mercado on ‘Orly Mercado All Ready’ on occasion, and outside Radyo5, is the dean of Far Eastern University Institute of Law.

Both Mae Anne Los Baños and Maricel Halili serve as News5 reporters. Mae Anne was one of the anchors of ‘Balita Alas-Singko’ while Maricel hosts ‘Iba Yung Pinoy’ on Sunday afternoons.

The rotating host situation in ‘Punto Asintado’ is a microcosm of the overall situation that is going on at Radyo5 92.3 News FM. Throughout the past year, some of the station’s personalities left for various reasons, and the fact that Radyo5 executives have failed to fill in the gaps made it clear that the station’s days are numbered.

When every listener thinks of ‘Punto Asintado’, Erwin Tulfo will always come to mind. This show will always be identified with him, even though he had some co-hosts in Cheryl Cosim and Martin Andanar along the way.

Perhaps Radyo5 would be wise to cancel ‘Punto Asintado’ at this point because it makes no sense continuing the show without its most identifiable personality. The show is and will always belong to Erwin Tulfo regardless of where he goes.

As for the situation at the chair, Radyo5 may need to call Ed Lingao and Lourd de Veyra’s number. A new morning show with either one of them could mitigate the loss of one of Radyo5’s standout programs.

One can only hope that Radyo5 will do the right thing when it comes to the 8:00 a.m. weekday slot. Time is of the essence, so good luck to them in figuring out this mess.

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House Hearing on NBP Drug Trade Resumes Today. Will News5 Participate?

The hearing on the New Bilibid Prisons drug trade resumes today at the Batasan Pambansa. (Photo credit: Roices Naguit)

The House of Representatives’ hearing on the drug trade at the New Bilibid Prisons resumes today.

The third part of the hearings will feature notable witnesses such as Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos and former intelligence officer Joenel Sanchez. The House has also sent invitations to former Bucor general Franklin Bucayu, former driver of Leila de Lima Ronnie Dayan, and convicted inmate Jaybee Sebastian.

All of the witnesses will be presented by the Department of Justice. On a related note, the alleged sex video of Leila de Lima will no longer be shown at the hearings due to negative criticisms.

Broadcast-wise, the hearings will again be seen live in most major news outlets both online and on traditional media. The question is, is News5 fully committed to carrying the hearings?

It can be recalled that during the House hearings that took place on September 20 and 21, News5 only aired the entirety of the proceedings online, with AksyonTV partially participating and Radyo5 92.3 News FM ignoring it altogether. News5’s non-airing of the hearings on traditional media was heavily criticized, and its apparent ignorance serves as an insult to TV5 in general.

While ‘Relasyon’ and ‘Wanted sa Radyo’ are just some of the most popular shows on Radyo5, preempting the two shows in favor of live hearings could have benefited the Kapatid follower. After all, unlike the ‘Big Three’ in AM that are DZBB, DZMM and DZRH, Radyo5 can be accessible on most mobile devices (e.g. cellphones), thus giving them an advantage.

Still, with due respect to Luchi Cruz-Valdes, Gladys Lana-Lucas, Atty. Mel Sta. Maria, Raffy Tulfo and Niña Taduran, every once in a while they should have given way to important events such as this. Once they show up to host their respective programs in an occasion of utmost importance, it will be an utter disgrace to the community of journalists.

Let’s just hope that News5 finally comes to their senses and air this hearing on their broadcast networks. Otherwise, expect even greater criticism from this embattled outlet.

As for the rest of the stations (e.g. DZMM TeleRadyo, GMA News TV, CNN Philippines, ABS-CBN News Channel), good luck again on this marathon. Every word and movement on this hearing will be very crucial towards delivering the utmost truth.

News5 Anchors Go Solo, But Is It Worth the Risk?

News5 is making changes, sort of.

As reported yesterday by MediaNewser.com, three of TV5’s ‘Aksyon’ newscasts will have just one anchor each. The anchors for each newscast are:

• Cheryl Cosim (Aksyon sa Umaga)
• Raffy Tulfo (Aksyon sa Tanghali)
• Ed Lingao (Aksyon Tonite)

This was in reaction to the recent departures of several News5 talent (e.g. Martin Andanar and Cherie Mercado), some of whom were hired by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. As for ‘Aksyon Prime’, they will retain a two-anchor setup with Erwin Tulfo and Luchi Cruz-Valdes.

The one-anchor setup actually got underway with ‘Aksyon sa Tanghali’, when TV5 chose not to give Raffy Tulfo a replacement partner starting July 18. However, the possibility of just one anchor on the newscasts was not realized until Cheryl Cosim hinted recently on Instagram of her last remaining days as co-anchor of ‘Aksyon Tonite’.

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#AngHulingLinggoKo #AngHulingArawKo sa #AksyonTONITE … Maraming Salamat po sa inyong suporta mga Kapatid. Mami-miss ko kayo gabi-gabi pero mananatiling kasama n'yo si Bok Ed and @liadcruz . Simula August 1 sana'y samahan n'yo ako tuwing umaga 5am sa #AksyonSaUmaga

A post shared by cherylcosim (@cherylcosim) on Jul 27, 2016 at 7:31am PDT

‘Aksyon sa Umaga’, the other newscast that Cheryl anchors nowadays, will be most affected by the new setup. The show will lose co-hosts Grace Lee, France Noguera, Renz Ongkiko, Jeff Caparas, and Atty. Mel Sta. Maria, and viewers could feel concerned about the impracticality of one anchor handling a long 90-minute newscast.

Despite the decision, criticism continued to haunt News5, especially their decision to retain Raffy Tulfo for ‘Aksyon sa Tanghali’. As noted previously in Part I of News5 Needs a Revamp, ‘Aksyon sa Tanghali’ was mostly sensationalized and similar to Raffy’s radio show ‘Wanted sa Radyo’, thanks in large part to the ‘Itimbre Mo Kay Tulfo’ segment.

Many also criticized News5’s decision to drop Atty. Mel Sta. Maria from ‘Aksyon sa Umaga’. Considering that both Cheryl and Atty. Mel were praised for giving new life and credibility back into the newscast, this was a decision that will undoubtedly question News5’s commitment to improve its news programs.

The truth is, Luchi Cruz-Valdes should have done a lot more. Using just one anchor for three of the ‘Aksyon’ newscasts will not change how viewers negatively perceive News5, especially when the presence of the Tulfo brothers were brought up to the discussion.

That said, it is obvious that a full-scale revamp is still a necessity for News5. Unless they promote more deserving reporters to anchor status, hire fresh graduates from journalism and mass communications courses, and change their approach to news reporting to a more ‘global’ approach, News5’s negative reputation will continue to haunt them in the years to come.

TV5’s New Shows Premiere This Quarter of 2015

The Padilla brothers may have taken different paths acting-wise, but on ‘2 1/2 Daddies’, they will join forces on TV5’s newest sitcom, one of several upcoming programs gracing the Kapatid network this week. (Photo credit: TV5)

The blanks have been filled once again on TV5.

Two brand new shows premiered on the Kapatid network today. ‘Happy Wife, Happy Life’, hosted by RR Enriquez, LJ Moreno-Alapag, Danica Sotto-Pingris and Jeck Maierhofer, and ‘Solved na Solved’, hosted by Arnell Ignacio, Gelli de Belen and TV5 legal expert Atty. Mel Sta. Maria, debuted following the conclusion of the network’s coverage of Pope Francis in Manila earlier this morning.

Tomorrow will see two other shows make their way into the TV5 lineup. The local version of the Australian kids’ show ‘Hi-5’ premieres at 8:30 a.m., while ‘Healing Galing’, a spinoff of the Radyo5 program hosted by Dr. Edinell Calvario, will air at 10:00 a.m. with Hayden Kho as co-host.

The Padilla brothers (Robin, Rommel and BB Gandanghari) will join forces on the sitcom ‘2 1/2 Daddies’, which will air starting this Saturday at 8:00 p.m.. Another sitcom, this time starring Derek Ramsay and Empoy Marquez, will be titled ‘Mac and Chiz’ and will air starting this Sunday at 8:00 p.m.

A pair of talent shows will also spice up TV5’s weekend programming. ‘Move It’, a dance show hosted by Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Tom Taus, premieres this Sunday at 7:00 p.m., while ‘Rising Stars’, a singing competition show hosted by Ogie Alcasid and Venus Raj, will be aired next month.

A new season of ‘Wattpad Presents’ will also see the light of day, as new love stories featuring television’s rising young talents will be featured starting tonight at 9:00 p.m. And for those in need of love advice, call Papa Jack and his new show ‘Call Me Papa Jack’, which airs starting this Saturday at 10:00 p.m.

Still to come for the Kapatid network are:

• ‘E5’, a showbiz, lifestyle and fashion show hosted by KC Montero, Grace Lee, Tim Yap, IC Mendoza and Divine Lee
• ‘Extreme Challenge: Kaya Mo Ba ‘To’, an adventure reality show hosted by Derek Ramsay and features select teams of ‘The Amazing Race Philippines 2’
• ‘No Harm No Foul’, a sitcom starring Ogie Alcasid, Ritz Azul and several PBA players
• ‘Kontrabando’, a news satire show hosted by Ramon Bautista, Lourd de Veyra, Jun Sabayton and RA Rivera
• ‘Last School Standing’, a game show featuring the top high schools in the country

This is definitely a good start for TV5 in 2015. That said, expect the network to plug in more holes as the weeks go on, as they look to stabilize their programming lineup for this year.

AksyonTV’s ‘Wow Mali’ Moment

Yesterday morning marked a hilarious moment for AksyonTV.

With the PBA quarterfinals scheduled to begin later that afternoon, AksyonTV’s hookup with Radyo5 92.3 News FM started much earlier at 7:30 a.m. ‘Punto Asintado’ was supposed to air on that timeslot, but with Martin Andanar ill and Erwin Tulfo arriving late, its preceding program, ‘Orly Mercado All Ready’, extended its airtime instead.

AksyonTV then made a bit of a gaffe when the title graphics for ‘Punto Asintado’ were flashed, only to see Orly Mercado and his show continue beyond schedule. Because Erwin Tulfo always arrives at 8:00 a.m. regardless of the station’s schedule, Orly decided to continue his program rather than shift to ‘Punto Asintado’, in contrast to his usual substitute Atty. Mel Sta. Maria’s practice.

Time constraints prevented ‘Punto Asintado’ from calling both the MMDA Metro Traffic Base and PAGASA for their daily traffic and weather reports, and instead, for the remainder of the show, Erwin interviewed some guests via phone and read comments from netizens with regards to the topics at hand.

It was a funny moment for the said network, but it should also teach them a valuable lesson. Let’s just hope that this minor glitch will not affect AksyonTV and TV5 in the near future.

TV5 Rebrands Its Newscasts Under the Aksyon Banner

Starting July 14, TV5’s ‘Aksyon’  newscasts will not only be seen in the early evening, but also in the morning, at noontime and during late nights. (Photo credit: News5 Everywhere)

Goodbye ‘Good Morning Ser’, ‘Andar ng mga Balita’, and ‘Pilipinas News’.

As part of its ongoing ‘Signal No. 5: Umuulan ng Saya’ campaign, TV5 has announced that its newscasts will be rebranded under the ‘Aksyon’ banner beginning this July 14. The newscasts are as follows: ‘Aksyon sa Umaga’, ‘Aksyon sa Tanghali’, and ‘Aksyon Tonite’. The three newscasts will be joined by the flagship early evening newscast ‘Aksyon’.

As a result of the rebrand,  ‘Good Morning Ser’ (formerly ‘Good Morning Club’), ‘Andar ng mga Balita’ and ‘Pilipinas News’ will bid farewell today after a three-year run. ‘Pilipinas News Weekend’ will then air its final newscast on Sunday, with a replacement yet to be determined.

‘Aksyon sa Umaga’ will retain the services of Martin Andanar and Lourd de Veyra from ‘Good Morning Ser’. In addition, Grace Lee, who previously anchored ‘Aksyon Weekend’ and hosted ‘Good Morning Girls’, will be added as the third anchor. Like its predecessor, it will be a two-hour news and talk-based program.

‘Aksyon sa Tanghali’ will be anchored by Raffy Tulfo and Cherie Mercado. The ‘T3: Reload’ and ‘Wanted sa Radyo’ host is no stranger to anchoring a noontime newscast, having anchored ‘Balitaang Tapat’ two years earlier. Meanwhile Cherie Mercado moves from late nights to noontime after anchoring ‘Pilipinas News’ for over two years.

The flagship ‘Aksyon’ newscast will still be anchored by Erwin Tulfo, but his new partner will be no less than News5’s Head of News and Information, Luchi Cruz-Valdes. Luchi’s ‘Reaksyon’ program will no longer be independent from any newscast, but instead it will be incorporated as one of the segments of ‘Aksyon’.

And finally, ‘Aksyon Tonite’ will retain Paolo Bediones from ‘Pilipinas News’, but Cheryl Cosim from ‘Aksyon’ will now serve as his new partner. Like its predecessor, ‘Aksyon Tonite’ will be a 30-minute newscast that will recap the biggest news of the day.

The rebranded ‘Aksyon’ newscasts, along with ‘Aksyon Alert’ and ‘Aksyon Breaking’ news updates, are intended to strengthen and unify TV5’s news department under the ‘One Brand News Program’ approach. But it remains to be seen if the rebrand to ‘Aksyon’ will pay off.

New Timeslot for ‘T3’

‘T3: Reload’ was scheduled to move to a new timeslot this Monday. However, the change of timeslot came a week early.

Last Monday, viewers were surprised to see Raffy and Ben Tulfo host their public service program at noontime. Monday’s edition of ‘T3’ was actually a replay of last Friday’s episode, but it was not until the live Tuesday edition that the Tulfo brothers officially confirmed the show’s new timeslot.

‘T3: Reload”s move to noontime was intended to accommodate the NCAA Season 90 seniors basketball game on TV5, which moved to 4:00 p.m. from 2:00 p.m. the previous week. However, AksyonTV and Radyo5 92.3 News FM did not air the program simultaneously (‘Relasyon’ of Atty. Mel Sta. Maria and Luchi Cruz-Valdes was aired instead), as they were not informed of ‘T3”s premature timeslot change.

However, expect both AksyonTV and Radyo5 to make some changes in their programming lineup this Monday, in order to accommodate ‘T3: Reload’ and ‘Aksyon’ newscasts.