Gino Out: Long-Time DJ Leaves Monster RX 93.1

‘The Morning Rush’ lost another of its well-known voices.

Gino Quillamor announced his departure from Monster RX 93.1 this past week. He made his last appearance on Wednesday, June 20, and following the show he tweeted “Peace out!”, which led to questions from some of his followers with regards to his departure from the station.

Peace out! ✌🏻

— Gino Quillamor (@ginoboi) June 20, 2018

Gino initially joined ‘The Morning Rush’ as a substitute to Delamar Arias in 2011. Almost immediately, he and Chico Garcia clicked as a tandem, with ‘Rushers’ dubbing the duo as ‘ChiChi and GiGi’.

Under Chico and Gino, ‘The Morning Rush’ introduced new segments to keep up with an increasingly younger audience. Two of these segments, Epic Pic and Epic Rap-offs, became immediate hits with the listeners.

Even as Delamar returned from maternity leave in late 2011, RX management was so impressed with Gino that the station promoted him to work ‘The Morning Rush’ on a full-time basis. The trio of Chico, Delamar and Gino would remain together until July 2016 when Delamar left the station to focus on her family.

After Bea Fabregas briefly filled Delamar’s role, Chico and Gino continued to host the show without a female co-host for the next several months. Then in April of last year, RX found a new co-host in Rica Garcia, and this setup remained until last Wednesday.

In the wake of Gino’s departure, RX decided to keep ‘The Morning Rush’ as a three-person team by adding Hazel Aguilon as its newest co-host. But it remains to be seen if this will be an temporary experiment or a full-time gig.

Much like Delamar’s departure two years ago, RX will find it difficult to replace a Gino Quillamor. Hazel may be an established voice within the station, but filling the shoes of Gino is easier said than done.

Unless ‘Rushers’ are convinced that Hazel is a worthy replacement, ‘The Morning Rush’ will once again have to endure some growing pains. But for a show that has accomplished a lot of late despite a revolving door of female hosts (see the 2018 KBP Golden Dove Awards), they will do just fine.

In 100 Words: The Morning Rush’s New Recruit

Monster RX 93.1 found a permanent replacement for Delamar, and they didn’t need to go outside.

RX recently announced that Rica Garcia will be the new third host of ‘The Morning Rush’ alongside Chico Garcia (no relation) and Gino Quillamor. The announcement came amid clamor from TMR’s long-time listeners who wanted a female voice following the departures of Delamar Arias and now-Magic 89.9 DJ Bea Fabregas.

Prior to earning the gig with ‘The Morning Rush’, Rica joined RX in 2016 as part of the Radio 1 student DJ program. Rica, according to her social media pages, is also a freelance makeup artist and has her own YouTube channel dedicated to makeup tutorials.

Only time will tell whether or not Rica will be a good fit to ‘The Morning Rush’. For now, good luck to her.

FTT Year 2016 in Review: The 20 Stories That Define the Year in Media (Part III)

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2017, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article looks back at the 20 moments that define the Philippine media this year.

If you missed out on Part I and Part II of this series, click on the highlighted link for more information.

Here is Part III of the four-part series. These stories are arranged in no particular order.

Pinoy Boyband Superstar Answers To the Top

Last year, GMA created its own reality talent show for up-and-coming Filipino boybands, ‘To the Top’. This year, ABS-CBN struck back by bringing the ‘La Banda’ franchise to the Philippines under the name ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’.

Unfortunately for GMA, the popularity of ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ far exceeded ‘To the Top’. The former constantly gained ratings of 30% or better while airing at a more convenient timeslot of 6:50 p.m., whereas the latter only mustered around 7-8% ratings while airing at a not-so attractive timeslot of 9:45-10:00 p.m.

Despite the success of ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’, it remains to be seen if BoybandPH can become a more popular boyband than Top One Project ever was. That said, the key to both boybands at this point is to outsell each other in order to win the hearts of fans.

Delamar Leaves RX 93.1’s The Morning Rush

‘The Morning Rush’ on Monster RX 93.1 is an institution in Philippine FM radio, having aired continuously for over two decades. So when Delamar Arias decided to leave both the show and the station on July 29, listeners, or ‘rushers’, were stunned.

After all, Delamar, along with long-time partner Chico Garcia and recent addition Gino Quillamor, were instrumental in the show’s success, with the ‘Top 10’ segment becoming the most popular segment. Her departure left a glaring hole on ‘The Morning Rush’, one they have struggled to fill since.

Delamar was not the only high-profile departure from the station. A few weeks later, Bea Fabregas left RX to focus on hosting FOX Sports Philippines’ ‘Fox Sports Minute’ and ‘The GOAT’, while Karen Bordador was arrested for alleged drug possession and was de facto removed from the station.

The Launch of PBA Rush, Plus UFC on TV5 and Olympic Coverage

If Solar Entertainment has NBA Premium TV, then TV5 has its own channel for the PBA in PBA Rush. Launched prior to the 2016 Governors’ Cup, PBA Rush is considered the Filipino version of NBA TV, featuring live and archived PBA games plus special programs dedicated to the league.

The timing of PBA Rush’s launch couldn’t have come at an important time, as that year’s Governors’ Cup saw Barangay Ginebra San Miguel end an eight-year title drought at the expense of the Meralco Bolts. Ginebra’s win would have concluded PBA’s run with TV5, but instead the partnership between the two was renewed in time for the ongoing Philippine Cup.

TV5 also made a high-profile acquisition when it purchased the broadcast rights to the UFC, promising it to air live on its HYPER channel. Unfortunately, TV5’s coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics was a difficult one, as the network struggles to deal with its decline in programming quality.

Other Sports Stories on TV

ABS-CBN Sports replaced the UFC by focusing on local and regional mixed martial arts, namely the Alvin Aguilar-led URCC, and the Southeast Asia-based One Championship. They also brought in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) as part of its continued commitment to local and regional sports.

Solar Sports dabbled into collegiate basketball by airing the NAASCU, while IBC-13 and AksyonTV aired the UCBL and CESAFI tournaments respectively. However, the biggest draws remain the NCAA and the UAAP, where the San Beda Red Lions and the De La Salle Green Archers won their respective championships.

Finally, in women’s volleyball, ABS-CBN Sports acquired the rights to the Shakey’s V-League, beginning a contentious rivalry between the V-League and the TV5-aired Philippine SuperLiga.

Be My Lady Reigns, Ryzza Mae’s Run Ends

‘Be My Lady’, topbilled by real-life couple Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga,was the top draw at the pre-noontime slot for much of this year. Airing for 221 episodes from January 18 to November 25, the series earned ratings of nearly 20%, besting the competition in the process.

The aforementioned competition included a pair of shows starring Ryzza Mae Dizon: ‘Princess in the Palace’, and ‘Calle Siete’. But with Ryzza already entering the pre-teen stage of her life, it was clear that she was no longer the charmingly cute presence of years past.

In the end, TAPE decided to cease starring her on the pre-noontime slot beginning October 24, and gave the BAES (along with Taki Sato) of ‘Eat Bulaga’ a lead role in ‘TROPS’.

Part IV of this four-part series is coming up tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Monster RX 93.1 In a Crisis

The once tight-knit family on Monster RX 93.1 is crumbling.

Still reeling from the departure of Delamar Arias last July 29, RX endured another incident a few weeks later. On August 14, RX DJ Karen Bordador was arrested along with boyfriend Emilio Lim due to possession of illegal drugs.

At the time of her arrest, Karen was assigned to the 2:00 to 6:00 a.m. slot. Prior to that, she was partnered with Rico Robles during the afternoon.

Friends and family of Karen vehemently denied that she was a drug user. Even her ex-boyfriend Chris Tan agreed to their sentiments.

In response to the situation, the management of RX issued the following statement:

As a result of Karen’s arrest, RX was forced to make adjustments in their schedule. Initially, Hazel Aguilon, Cara Eriguel and Tom Alvarez were given longer shifts during weeknights, but recently, student DJs from the Radio1 program were assigned to man the 2:00 to 6:00 a.m. slot that Karen usually handles.

But Karen Bordador was not the only RX DJ to make the headlines. Yesterday, RX listeners were stunned when DJ Bea Fabregas announced her departure from RX following her final shift on the station’s Hip 26 block.

View this post on Instagram

Hi ❤️ My shift on Hip26 this morning was my last day as Monster DJ, this was unexpected for me as well so this will be a bit lengthy but please bear with me! . To @chicogarcia @delamararias @ginoboi931: I cannot begin to thank you all, for everything. For accepting this clueless weirdo, that doesn't like eating lol, or traveling or game of thrones and yet making me feel at home off air, but most especially the second that mic was turned on. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be able to call the you two, Chico and Gino as my radio partners. Also the rare days that Delle and I would be there together, and the four of us were on air all at once. Without a doubt the past year on The Morning Rush has brought me such an amount of joy that I could not contain, and I think that's the reason why I would laugh so hard. I don't think I've ever laughed that much in my life. Thank you so much to the three of you for accepting me, but more than anything, thank you for being wonderful people that I get to call friends now. I will always be grateful and blessed to have met you guys. . To the Rushers: WHERE TO BEGIN. You are all seriously the best. From day 1, to laughing with us, to sending in your tweets every show, to forgiving me for not playing all of your requests ✌🏼️😂 to even asking me to sign your TMR books, that I wasn't even part of ❤️ and lastly to creating the petition last month on change.org! Just like the three, you all welcomed me with open arms, and I consider that a privilege and a blessing. I love you all, and the support you have shown me here on IG, twitter, Fb and most especially on air, will be with me always. Thank you thank you thank you. . To the RX management and staff: Thank you for trusting me, and allowing this weirdo to go on air again. Thank you for the past year, I was truly able to grow as a DJ and as a person. I wish you all the best. . ❤️❤️❤️ Bye for now!

A post shared by beafabregas (@beafabregas) on Aug 20, 2016 at 8:48pm PDT

At the time of her departure, Bea was assigned to work for RX during weekends. Prior to that, the former Magic 89.9 and 99.5 Play FM DJ was an occasional co-host on ‘The Morning Rush’ with Delamar, Chico Garcia and Gino Quillamor.

No specific reason was given with regards to Bea’s resignation.

The crisis within Monster RX 93.1 is quickly becoming an epidemic. If the well-documented departure of Delamar Arias is not enough, now the station’s management needs to deal with the departure of Bea Fabregas and the incident surrounding Karen Bordador, something that could add pressure to its remaining DJs.

As the station scrambles to find replacements for their three female DJs, one must wonder if the best days of RX were now behind them. RX may be a proud and multi-awarded institution, but unless they address the situation immediately, they could lose not only their loyal listeners, but also their credibility.

For the entire RX family, the time to act is now. Good luck.

Changing of the Guard on Philippine FM Radio

Times are changing in the field of FM radio in the Philippines.

The biggest news coming off the industry was the departure of Delamar Arias from Monster RX 93.1 last July 29. Her departure marked the end of an era for ‘The Morning Rush’, which has long been considered an institution in Philippine FM radio.

When the show took the airwaves on August 1, ‘Rushers’ are still trying to figure out a way to make the show interesting without Delamar. But it was not easy, considering that the chemistry between her and Chico Garcia (plus Gino Quillamor) was undeniable.

RX even tried to add Bea Fabregas to the show in hopes of replacing Delamar in the near future. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, and to this day, they are still scrambling to fill Delamar’s chair.

But Delamar is not the only FM radio icon to bid farewell. Two other long-time DJs also called it a day for good.

There was Carlo Jose, who announced his retirement via Instagram almost at the same time as Delamar’s. Carlo’s involvement in the FM radio industry spanned 24 years, dating from his time as a DJ on Magic 89.9 to most recently a station manager for sister station 99.5 Play FM.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIZki82DR88/

Then there was Martin D, who announced his retirement from ABS-CBN’s MOR 101.9 last Friday. Best known as the host of ‘Request Express’ and ‘Top Hits Express’ on the old WRR 101.9, Martin D lasted 20 years with the said station.

Finally, one veteran DJ chose to jump stations instead of calling it a career. On July 29, Tina Mendiola (known on air as Tina Ryan) announced her departure from Magic 89.9, her home station for close to 20 years, in order to join sister station 103.5 K-Lite.

#GoodbyeTinaRyan899!💔
It's @tinaryan899's last show today. Send her some love! 👉magic899.FM pic.twitter.com/5zrYUHksaC

— Magic 89.9 (@Magic899) July 29, 2016

It was painful to say goodbye to some of radio’s most cherished voices. But in an age where the listening demographics are changing, there is no other choice but to move on and give way to younger individuals.

Still, their voices will forever be remembered by many who have heard them all these years. Their contributions to the Philippine FM radio industry will never be forgotten.

Delamar’s Last Day on RX

Chico and Delamar, a radio institution for over 20 years, is no more after the latter’s decision to depart ‘The Morning Rush’ on Monster RX 93.1. (Photo credit: The Morning Rush Official Facebook)

One of Philippine radio’s icons is taking a leave for good.

Monster RX 93.1 DJ Delamar Arias announced last week that she will leave ‘The Morning Rush’, the show she had been co-hosting with Chico Garcia since 1996. Her departure will leave a big hole on the long-running show, which earned numerous awards and even released three critically acclaimed books based on ‘The Morning Rush’ Top 10 segment.

Delamar’s decision to leave ‘The Morning Rush’ surprised and saddened many of its loyal listeners. After all, her partnership and chemistry with Chico and later with Gino Quillamor led to the immense popularity of the show, and in the process, led to the creation of other rival morning shows, such as Magic 89.9’s ‘Good Times with Mo’.

No reason was given for her departure, but according to Delamar, she had thought about leaving ‘The Morning Rush’ for over a year now. With two children to take care of, Delamar has been coping with both her family life and radio life for a long time now, which may have influenced her decision to leave recently.

Finally, to quell fans’ fears, she clarified that she will not migrate to another country nor work for another radio station. Considering how loyal she was with RX for over 20 years, this was a touching declaration for her.

Delamar’s last day on ‘The Morning Rush was Friday. After that, RX will need to figure out a way to fill a big void left by the popular DJ and mother of two.

For now, though, it will be up to Chico and Gino to hold the fort. Come this Monday, a very different ‘The Morning Rush’ will emanate the airwaves.