Ka-Blog!

In the guise of protecting democracy, Presidential
Proclamation 1017 went after what to many, at least in this country, a bastion
of democracy—the free press. Much have
been written and said about the police raid on the editorial offices of The Daily Tribune and the harassment on
the tabloid Abante. Mentioned in between more sensational events
during those fateful seven days when PP1017 was in effect was the call made by
the National Telecommunications Commission on all radio stations in the country
warning them to be extra careful in their criticism of the government. 

       Now that PP1017 has been (paper-) lifted, it is clear that
both the broadsheet and the tabloid would continue operations with the added
prestige of having stood up against Malacañang. But one radio program in a small Manila station
seems to be the biggest PP1017 “media casualty.”

       Meet Ngayon Na, Bayan!
a critical and now controversial one-hour-and-a-half gabfest on the 810 kHz
dial of the AM band. It went on air on
weekdays from 2:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon. Until the NTC call came and the show’s subsequent
cancellation.

       Produced by Kodao Productions, Inc., Ngayon Na, Bayan! claims direct lineage to People Power 2. DZRJ-AM station owner Ramon Jacinto, he of
the Radyo Bandido fame of the first Edsa uprising, offered a timeslot to Bayan
Muna, one of the movers of the 2001 ouster of former President Joseph Estrada,
which in turn asked Kodao to produce the program. In February 26, the program broadcast its
first show.

       Advocating for good governance, the show became increasingly
critical of the Arroyo government because of the latter’s obvious
faults—corruption, shameless accommodation of the Marcos and Estrada groups,
poll fraud, human rights violations, among many others. It prided itself in inviting as resource
persons the voices of the marginalized sectors like peasants, workers,
political detainees, human rights victims, exiled or underground revolutionaries,
and the like. Of late, it has interviewed diplomats from countries considered
to be members of US President George W. Bush’s “Axis of Evil” list. 

       In its nearly five years of broadcast (it was “suspended” a
mere two days before it did), Ngayon Na,
Bayan! also bore witness to violence against the civilian populace. It was there when seven peasant strikers were
massacred in Hacienda Luisita. Days
before their murder, Eden Marcellana, Eddie Gumanoy, Ricardo Ramos, Diosdado
Fortuna, Councilor Abel Ladera, Fr. William Tadena, and many others were either
live studio guests or phone interviewees. Even its ever-growing listeners base have not been spared. One of its most active texters, Danny
Macapagal from Nueva Ecija, has even been abducted in 2004 and remains missing
to this day. The six persecuted party
list representatives—Crispin Beltran, Satur Ocampo, Joel Virador, Rafael
Mariano, Liza Masa and Teodoro Casiño are regular guests, even co-hosts on
special occasions. 

       Hosted by veteran broadcaster Sonia M. Capio, the program’s
co-hosts include human rights worker Benjie Oliveros, former Alliance of
Concerned Teachers secretary general Raymund B. Villanueva, former College
Editors’ Guild of the Philippine president Ruth Cervantes, martial law foe and
activist priest Joe Dizon and University of the Philippines professor Danilo A. Arao. Aside from its
own set of reporters, it also maintains a team of regional and sectoral correspondents
and it is the only program in its station that could field reporters especially
during nationally-coordinated events. According
to a survey in 2002, Ngayon Na, Bayan!
is among the top five most listened to radio programs on its time slot despite
DZRJ-AM having a modest 10,000 kHz broadcast strength. The show’s popularity is such that it has
spawned an organization on its own, the Ngayon
Na, Bayan! Crusaders for Good Government.

       Ngayon Na, Bayan!
has been adjudged as the Best Public Affairs Radio Program in Metro Manila by
the Kapisan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas 2002 Golden Dove Awards. It has been a consistent finalist in the
Catholic Mass Media Awards from 2001 to 2005. It fact, it is the only awarded radio show on in the entire Rajah
Broadcasting Network organization. 

       The program’s critical stance has not escaped the ears of
the over-eager defenders of the dispensation in Malacañang. After it consistently denounced what it calls
“shameless poll fraud” in the 2004 national elections, it began receiving
threatening text messages and hysterical phone calls. Meetings with the station owner soon followed
where the hosts were asked to tone down its criticisms of the president. The hosts never directly called for the
president’s resignation since then but it never asked its resource persons and listeners
not to either. 

       Hours after PP1017 was announced, a call came through to Ms Capio
informing her that Ngayon Na, Bayan!
was “suspended” from broadcast “until further notice.” In a meeting with Mr Jacinto last Monday, the
producers were informed that the program is to be cancelled permanently. 

       Since then, the show’s supporters have been burning web lines
denouncing NTC and Malacañang’s moves against the critical press and calling
for the show’s resumption of broadcast. Letters in email groups, articles in Friendster blogs, calls in phone
lines and messages in cell phones are making sure that Ngayon Na, Bayan! is still in the airwaves—ever vigilant, ever critical,
ever free. 

       Are you listening, finally?