Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 21 | Page 32

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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 1 - 15, 2018
GMA Network’s Philippine Seas wins at prestigious
AIBs in London, Reel Time’s ‘Batang Maestro’,
highly commended
GMA Network brings home
honors for the Philippines anew
after Atom Araullo’s Philippine Seas
won at the prestigious Association
for International Broadcasting
Awards (AIBs) 2018 in London on
November 7.
Araullo’s first-ever documentary
special in the Kapuso Network was
named the best in the Science,
Technology, Nature category,
beating other short-listed entries
from Al Jazeera English, CNN, and
BBC News Digital.
Another GMA News and
Public Affairs entry—the award-
winning episode of Reel Time
‘Batang Maestro’—meanwhile was
conferred the highly commended
citation in the Domestic Affairs
Documentary category.
Receiving the awards for the
Philippines and GMA Network were
Philippine Seas Program Manager
Lee Joseph Castel and Executive
Producer Ian Simbulan; and Reel
Time Program Manager Nowell
Cuanang.
Meanwhile “Marawi Liberation:
War is Over” by GMA News TV’s
flagship newscast State of the
Nation with Jessica Soho (SONA),
was short-listed in the Daily
Journalism category.
Aired on GMA 7 last year,
Philippine Seas aimed to uncover
the wonders
and threats
surrounding
t
h
e
Philippines’
m a r i n e
g e m s .
Araullo and
the rest of
the
team
went on a
rigorous
1 0 - d a y
expedition
a c r o s s
L u z o n ,
Visayas and
Mindanao.
Each journey
presented
the beauty of
the country’s
abundant
seas and oceans while touching
on the threats and problems the
Philippines and Filipinos who rely
on the seas for a living face. In
fact, after the airing of the special,
eight Filipino fishermen detained
in Indonesia were repatriated to
the Philippines. The court found
insufficient grounds to charge
them for illegal fishing.
GMA News TV’s Reel Time,
on the other hand, featured the
story of 12-year-old Dagul and his
fellow volunteer ‘little teachers’ in
“Batang Maestro” episode. Driven
by a determination to build a
community with zero non-readers,
the head teacher of San Jose
Elementary School in the province
of Sorsogon started a program to
teach children in remote villages
how to read. He is helped by his
students who share his advocacy,
one of them is Dagul. Together
with his fellow little teachers, Dagul
braves the long river of Donsol on
board a bamboo raft that they
sometimes have to push against
the current, and takes an hour
walk up to a village on a mountain.
Their goal is to reach children who
have difficulty reading because
they live so far from school that
they’re often absent from classes.
Now on its 14th year, the AIBs
are the international awards for
factual video, audio, and interactive
productions.
PNP chief raises concern over portrayal of
police corruption in ‘Ang Probinsyano’
In the hit teleserye “Ang
Probinsyano,” starring by Coco
Martin, Cardo’s view of the police
force has been blighted by politics
and corruption. Moreso in the
current arc which saw its fictional
police chief try and assassinate the
president.
But this negative portrayal
has now raised concerns that the
show might have damaged the
reputation of real-life cops.
On Wednesday, Philippine
National Police (PNP) chief Director
General Oscar Albayalde told
reporters that he wants to reassure
the public that corruption within
their ranks was not widespread.
“Hindi naman fair sa PNP
‘yung mga ganyang portrayal,” he
said. “Parang ‘yung the chief PNP
himself is a villain -- hindi naman
po siguro kailanman nangyari sa
amin.”
“In
reality,
well,
hindi
puwedeng mangyari iyan.”
He also called the unflattering
light the PNP of “Ang
Probinsyano” has found itself
under as “very disturbing,”
and reminded that taking
justice into one’s own hands
is against the law.
“We are a nation of laws,
not of men,” he insisted.
ABS-CBN
has
responded to Albayalde’s
concerns, assuring the PNP
chief that they have placed
proper disclaimers before
every episode of the show,
which is viewed by millions of
Filipinos.
The full statement can
be read below:
“’FPJ’s
Ang
Probinsyano’ assures the
Philippine National Police
that the characters, places, and
incidents in the program are
purely fictitious as stated in the
disclaimer aired at the start of
the show every night. There is no
intention to smear the reputation
of any organization or portray any
person in a negative light.
“The program has also
portrayed its main character,
Cardo, as a hardworking police
officer dedicated to saving lives
and serving his fellowmen. As in the
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
past years, ‘FPJAP’ has highlighted
that good shall always triumph
over evil and has shared valuable
lessons and family values that
have resonated with viewers.”(abs-
cbn news)