If one uses PBBM’s recent appointments of Gibo Teodoro as new Secretary of Defense and Dr. Ted Herbosa as new Health Secretary as benchmark for his impending Cabinet reorganization, then we have reason to expect positive changes before his State of the Nation Address (SONA) next month.
Teodoro running under the Peoples Reform Party (PRP) and Uniteam Alliance, finished a very respectable number 15 with 12,789,479 votes or 23.59 percent of the total votes. He is very much qualified and commands respect from the military/ police organizations and the academe. He was offered twice by then President Rodrigo Duterte to assume the post of DND Secretary but begged off for family reasons. After five years he expressed interest to run as VP of VP Sara Duterte but ended up as part of the Uniteam.
I’ve known him personally many years back, particularly 1989 when he topped that year’s Bar exams. He is a deep-hearted nationalist and a technocrat in government operations. Everybody remembers him as the chairman of the NDCC when MegaManila was hit by Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) in Sept 2009. In our times today of restlessness in the South China Sea and the non-stop havoc of climate change to our countrymen, Gibo’s leadership is most welcome.
On the other hand, the feisty Dr. Ted Herbosa as new Health Secretary brings in the much-needed expertise and political will in solving our nation’s health problems. We’ve seen him argue his very keen and correct “observations” at the height of our total ignorance of the coming dangers of the deadly COVID-19. I’ve interviewed him many times on radio where he carefully outlined controversial IATF decisions. He gave correct advice to families on how to manage this dreadful disease that killed more than 66,000 of our countrymen.
With Teodoro at DND, and Herbosa at DOH, we expect PBBM to assign better and much more competent Cabinet secretaries at the Department of Agriculture (DA) to attend to our numerous food crisis , the Department of Energy (DOE) for our unending power chaos and high costs, , Department of Communications and Technology (DICT) and our snail-paced digitalization, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for our reclamation and illegal mining practices , and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for repeated snafus at NAIA and the transport industry.
Five years, or 60 months and exactly 1,825 days to go. And the President should cut and cut cleanly his present Cabinet secretaries who are laggards in their work. And at this moment, I strongly believe that he knows who they are.
GOODBYE TVJ’S EAT BULAGA
In radio and television, all programs, no matter how many years on air, are discontinued for various financial reasons. Either low viewership/listenership that leads to lower advertising or subscription revenue or sometimes, the production cost is too large and therefore reducing the program profit.
These happens in legacy programs that their production costs exceeded budget projections. These include engineering costs and “high salaries” of program hosts or mainstays of the show. In most cases, the program is reformatted or “re-engineered” to lessen its production expenses. In critical points, some of the personnel are asked to agree to a salary cut and if the bleeding continues, then the show is cancelled or suspended.
Last month, we’ve seen the abrupt dismissal of Tito, Vic, and Joey and ultimately their other co-workers from their number one TV program of 44 years, EAT BULAGA. Thereafter, a media tug of war ensued between the popular hosts and the Jalosjos family who now publicly claim they own TAPE, the company that produces the show. GMA-7 has issued a statement that TAPE’s EAT BULAGA contract will end in 2024 and do not wish to involve in their “internal conflict”. Yesterday, the program introduced its new hosts with EB as its official program title.
On the other hand, there is talk that TVJ’s group will air on either TV 5 or Net 25 its own noontime show, to be called DABARKADS. Former Senator Tito Sotto said after they left TAPE, he got calls from executives of NET 25, TV5, CIGNAL TV and Radio Philippines Network (RPN9). Sotto who is leading negotiations for the transfer also said advertisers called in to say they will support them wherever they go.
Bacolod city mayor Albee Benitez, producer of the defunct noontime show LAUGH OUT LOUD (LOL) on TV 5 was also rumored to be on talks with TVJ, triggering speculations on who goes first on TV5 noon time, DABARKADS or IT’S SHOWTIME?
In the coming days, we will continue to see push-pull scenarios among these major protagonists, the much-loved TVJ against its long time EATBULAGA’s owner-financier, the Jalosjos family. And in these tense situations, I could only commiserate with the sudden loss of income of the minor program hosts, the talents, the daily contractuals, the cameramen, soundmen, and technical people. They are the direct victims of these power play. They’ve lost their jobs, shattered their dreams and personal projects in a flash. Some others may now be in deep debt and nowhere else to go.
Will there be an enterprising billionaire who will save DABARKADS and maintain their present salaries? Will that person be willing to spend his fortune in the next few months and support them on another channel? Will advertisers continue to support TAPE’s EAT BULAGA without TVJ and DABARKADS? Will this new TAPE show flop and close shop with Jalosjos crying to the bank in the end?
Or will they kiss and make up in the end?