news, Philippines, politics, public affairs, television

Live Blog: 2017 ASEAN Summit on ANC (Part I)

The 2017 ASEAN Summit is up and running, as heads of ASEAN nations as well as other world dignitaries converge to discuss various political issues that affect both their countries and the world. At around the same time, the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit also takes place, focusing on business concerns surrounding the ASEAN region.

The ABS-CBN News Channel and CNN Philippines are the primary channels that will cover in detail the ASEAN Summit. For this live blog, I will focus on ANC, so keep refreshing this blog for the latest updates on their coverage.

5:30-7:25 a.m.

ANC began its ASEAN coverage last Saturday night and stepped up its game further yesterday with a more detailed analysis on the event. ‘Early Edition’ kicks off Day 3 of the ASEAN Summit.

While I was still in bed, Annalisa Burgos, TJ Manotoc and Paolo Abrera are inside ANC’s main studio to begin the coverage. Co-anchor Michelle Ong is also live at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque.

During this time, the ‘Early Edition’ team conducted interviews related to the ASEAN Summit.

Also inside Solaire Resort and Casino is ‘Market Edge’ anchor Cathy Yang. She will anchor ‘Market Edge’ on location and conduct interviews with various business personalities.

7:25 a.m. 

Christian Esguerra is inside the 8 Rockwell studio for Matters of Fact. His guest, former Foreign Affairs secretary Roberto Romulo, speaks about Donald Trump, his relationship with President Rodrigo Duterte, the South China Sea, and other ASEAN-related issues.

7:49 a.m.

What’s buzzing on social media? Maria Isabel Lopez’s controversial bypass to the ASEAN lane generated plenty of reactions on social media.

Take it away, TJ.

8:00 a.m.

‘Headstart’ with Karen Davila is about to start. As always, ‘Headstart’ takes place inside the 8 Rockwell studio.

Her guest: ASEAN expert and columnist Karim Raslan. But first, headlines on the ASEAN Summit.

8:13 a.m.

Hot Copy with Karim Raslan starts now, and he’s taking on both sides of the ASEAN story.

While the interview was going on, I was eating my breakfast. All in all, watching ‘Headstart’ is like drinking my coffee to begin weekdays.

8:28 a.m.

Although there are no classes and work (at least in the Pasay-Parañaque area), the Philippine Stock Exchange will remain open during the entire ASEAN Summit week. ANC business reporter Warren de Guzman is already live-tweeting some stock market stats during this time, indicating that he will be inside the PSE to report on the stocks and foreign exchange figures.

8:40 a.m.

As I continue to watch ‘Headstart”s interview with Karim Raslan, I always think to myself that Karen Davila is a terrific interviewer. And like TJ Manotoc who goes between delivering news on ‘Early Edition’ and sports on S+A’s ‘The Score’, Karen is a multi-faceted personality that can shift from one particular medium to another.

After ‘Headstart’, some lunch and occasional tapings for ‘My Puhunan’, Karen would go to the main ABS-CBN Broadcast Center for DZMM’s ‘Pasada Sais Trenta’ in the afternoon and ABS-CBN’s ‘Bandila’ at night. A woman of many talents indeed.

8:52 a.m.

A live shot of the ASEAN Summit opening ceremony at the CCP Complex. Today and tomorrow will be a very busy one for our top dignitaries.

8:58 a.m.

Our beloved president greeting some of his fellow subjects at the CCP, as seen on ANC.

9:03 a.m.

We are back inside ANC’s main studio with Annalisa Burgos. Sometime later on Cathy Yang will make an appearance at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, so keep an eye on her.

Meanwhile, our beloved president greets more guests.

9:15 a.m.

Oh look, Cathy Yang is now LOL (live on location) at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. George Barcelon of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry is her first guest.

Meanwhile, more guests are arriving at the CCP.

9:22 a.m.

Lost in the hoopla of the ASEAN Summit is the announcement that the ABS-CBN Christmas Station ID will air at around 7:40 p.m. on ABS-CBN and its family of networks. And yes, our ANC anchors and reporters will be there wearing the Just Love shirts.

Meanwhile, our president continues to welcome his guests.

9:35 a.m.

Traffic is a concern at the ASEAN Summit with all the closed sections. Thank goodness ANC has a traffic report to keep us informed.

Over at the CCP, the Donald is in the building, Americana and all. Plus the stock market opens higher.

9:45 a.m.

ASEAN Summit opening ceremonies is about to begin any minute now. Stay tuned.

9:48 a.m.

Now underway.

9:53 a.m.

Uh-oh. Those anti-ASEAN Summit protests are at it again. Good thing the police are prepared.

9:55 a.m.

Our president now speaks at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Summit.

Stay tuned for Part II.

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education, Philippines, television

1995 Flashback: The Boom of Educational TV Shows

Led by the award-winning ‘SineSkwela’, educational programs in the Philippines received a big boost in 1995. (Logo courtesy of ABS-CBN)

1995 was a memorable year in Philippine television. As part of a year-long special, From the Tube will look back at a year full of historical debuts, unforgettable moments, and celebrated feats in the history of television in the country.

It’s back to school for students across the Philippines.

School year 2015-16 is now underway in every public school in the country, with private institutions starting theirs the week after. For big-name tertiary schools such as UP, Ateneo, La Salle and UST, opening of classes would come a few months later, as part of their alignment with the academic calendars of other countries.

Back in school year 1995-96, a surge in educational TV programs took place. The said school year saw the establishment of two different series of educational programs: ABS-CBN’s ETV (Educational Television), and PTV-4’s CONSTEL (Continuing Education via Television).

ABS-CBN’s ETV series initially consisted of the following programs:

SineSkwela – the flagship program of the ETV series which tackles a variety of topics related to elementary science, health and technology.

Hiraya Manawari – focuses on fantasy stories with lessons on good values and morals.

Bayani – discusses historic Filipino heroes through a dramatic retelling of their struggles and triumphs.

The ETV series introduced three other programs a few years later, consisting of:

Math-Tinik – features lessons related to elementary mathematics.

Epol/Apple – examines the proper use of elementary English in everyday conversations.

Pahina – analyzes classical Filipino literature through dramatization of said stories.

The ETV series initially aired on ABS-CBN during weekday mornings for much of the mid-90s. The debut of Knowledge Channel in 1999 soon prompted the network to move the ETV programs to the said channel, leading to a change in ABS-CBN’s early-morning landscape that remains to this day.

The ETV programs also aired on Studio 23 (now ABS-CBN Sports+Action). Videotapes and DVDs of the said programs were also sold and donated to schools through ABS-CBN Foundation.

Meanwhile, PTV-4’s CONSTEL series consisted of the following programs:

Science Made Easy – a telecourse for elementary students that features lessons on basic science.

Chemistry in Action – a telecourse for high school students that features lessons on chemistry.

Physics in Everyday Life – a telecourse for college students that features lessons on physics.

CONSTEL English – introduced a few years later, the series was a telecourse for high school students that features lesson on English language and grammar.

PTV-4’s CONSTEL series was produced by the network in cooperation with what is now the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Foundation for the Upgrading of Standards in Education (FUSE). The series continues to air on a sporadic basis, even during the time PTV-4 was known as NBN under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The CONSTEL series was also picked up by Knowledge Channel and is currently airing on a recurring basis.

While ‘Fun with Math’ was also introduced around this time, it was not considered part of the CONSTEL series. Nevertheless, the program served a similar purpose in promoting education through television.

The resurgence of educational TV programs was a big moment in Philippine television in 1995. Today, these programs continue to benefit teachers in any way possible, and influence a young generation of students everywhere.

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drama, entertainment, news, Philippines, public affairs, television

News TV Continues Fall From Grace with Amaya Rerun

‘Amaya’ returned to the airwaves, this time on GMA News TV last Monday. (Photo credit: GMA Network)

It doesn’t get any worse for GMA News TV.

After defying the logic of a news channel with classic movies and reruns from their previous incarnation QTV, News TV took it one step further by re-airing an old teleserye from their parent channel. And it was led by no less than the network’s so-called ‘Queen of Primetime’.

‘Amaya’, the 2011 ‘epicserye’, started re-airing on Channel 11 last Monday. The said series, which took place in 16th century Visayas, starred Marian Rivera, with supporting roles from Rochelle Pangilinan, Glaiza de Castro, Sid Lucero, Mikael Daez, Aljur Abrenica, Diana Zubiri, Gardo Versoza, Raymond Bagatsing, Lani Mercado, Gina Alajar and Ayen Munji-Laurel.

The series originally aired on GMA from May 30, 2011 to January 13, 2012. ‘Amaya”s run coincided with the gradual decline in the network’s performance during the current decade, as ABS-CBN’s counterparts began to dominate the ratings.

Nevertheless, ‘Amaya’ received citations from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and the Department of Education for its culturally significant story.

But that is not the real story behind News TV’s decision to re-air ‘Amaya’. Having exhausted all of their programming material to air, and having lacked the drive and the resources to produce more news programs, News TV resorted to another desperate manuever: re-airing older teleseryes from the parent Channel 7.

News TV is no stranger to airing historical and socially-significant dramas. After all, they aired GMA News-produced mini-series such as ‘Titser’, ‘Katipunan’ and ‘Bayan Ko’ to critical success, and they even re-aired the equally costly but less popular drama ‘Ilustrado’ at one point.

But ‘Amaya’ is a different animal. After all, it was a ‘true’ teleserye that GMA produced, and not a mere mini-series like the aforementioned ‘Ilustrado’.

And while ‘Amaya’ shares a similar historical significance as the other dramas, the fact that it had over 150 episodes to boot makes it an exhausting series to watch and remember. That said, re-airing ‘Amaya’ is a waste of time and space for GMA News TV.

So what’s next for the suddenly teleserye-friendly News TV? Will they re-air a Koreanovela remake like ‘Endless Love’, a fantaserye like ‘Encantadia’, or a more mature drama like ‘My Husband’s Lover’? We’ll never know, but one thing’s for sure: the worst is yet to come for GMA’s troubled little sister.

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