The EDSA Revolution and my Thirty Years of Public Service By Joel Arthur P. Tibaldo (Artibal)

Since the time that I first entered government service in 1986 as a Public Information

Assistance Desk Officer (PIADO), I had mixed feelings on what it would be like for

someone with an arts degree to be serving the people in the community. I joined the

National Media Production Center when the country was undergoing a transition phase

as a result of the EDSA People Power revolution. It was a time when the Philippines

was on its toes shaping up and undergoing recovery from the so-called Marcos

dictatorship and I took it as an opportunity and challenge to be part of the new system.

Months before my entry to NMPC, I was actually doing a media related work as news

video editor of the Newscenter-4, the television station of the Maharlika Broadcasting

System (MBS). Sequestered from the Lopez’ family during the Martial Law period by the

Marcos government, the broadcast facility was raided by the revolutionary forces hours

after I left for Baguio on February 21, 1986. There was a fierce firefight at the station’s

tower between government troops and rebel forces and the country’s conflict was being

monitored by people around the world. The Channel-4 siege where soldiers were killed,

the mammoth crowd of Aquino supporters and the historic people power protest along

Epifanio Delos Santos Ave. must have triggered the Marcoses to flee the country and

seek refuge in Honolulu, Hawaii. Believing in “Vox Populi” as the voice of the people

and looking at the expected revamp of the network that I worked with, I decided to let go

of my post and return to my hometown to face new challenges without regrets. At least,

I can mention in my resume that I have edited news materials under extreme pressure

using U-matic analog tapes and was part of a news department of a national

broadcasting system. I can likewise say that I have observed then newbie Korina

Sanches as a nervous news reader who at that time fails in comparison with Ces Orena

Drilon, Doris Bigornia and Baguio girl Aurora Alambra in terms of broadcasting abilities

and self confidence.

And so it happened that after the People Power Revolution which ousted a dictator,

many reforms were instituted by the new administration of President Corazon C.

Aquino. The MBS Ch-4 which was then under the Ministry of Public Information was

returned to its rightful owner as ABS-CBN and NMPC soon became the Philippine

Information Agency which is under the Office of the Press Secretary based in

Malacanang Palace.

During the revolutionary period of the Cory government, I volunteered and worked as

contractual employee of the new Philippine Information Agency, Baguio Field Office

which was still under the PIA Region 1 office based in San Fernando, La Union.

Starting all over again, my prior experiences in filmmaking, news photography, editorial

cartooning and membership with Baguio’s news organization somehow gave me the

boost and confidence that somehow helped me keep up with the agency’s demands

and expectations. I was a contractual employee of NMPC-PIA from August 1986 to

February of 1988 and after passing government exams, I became a permanent

employee as Information Officer effective March 1, 1988 to November 30, 2003. With

that, I can at least say that I have served under five Philippine administrations from

President Marcos, Cory Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria

Macapagal-Arroyo.

The preceding editorial cartoon published in the Cordillera Post depicting my entry to

Newscenter-4 was the only memento of my stint at the government TV network Ch-4.

Above photos shows me jobless in the summer of 1986 visiting the Malacanang Palace

that became an erstwhile museum and hallmark of power by the Marcoses. The image

of me with bloated face and bandaged forehead was taken while operating a shooting

gallery at the Burnham Park Carnival. A curious kibitzer regrettably clicked the trigger of

one of my pellet air guns resulting to a minor surgery and leaving a three stitch scar on

my forehead.

Back to the fold, photo above taken in 1986 and 1987 shows me working on a slogan

for a public billboard bearing the “i” logo of the Philippine Information Agency. My office

was involved with the documentation of the ongoing peace talks between the Cordillera

People’s Liberation Army and the national government as early as 1986 and I am

shown in photo having a morning coffee break with the late Fr. Conrado Balweg of the

CPLA.

Above photos show me documenting a cultural event with the newest Sony camcorder

at that time. Since PIA was tasked as the agency to lead in the information and

education campaign on the concept of regional autonomy, I took upon myself to record

as many cultural events and activities of regional interest that can be used for our

advocacy.

Thelma Dumpit-Murillo and cameraman Willie Hugo who are shown with me in photo

during a recent encounter in Metro Manila were among the news crew members of Ch-

4. Upper right photo also shows Jesus Matubis, our former News Director whom I also

met as fellow speaker during a media seminar in Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan sometime in

2011. They were among the seasoned television news teams and heads of news

department while I served as erstwhile news video editor before EDSA 1 broke out.

Matubis made waves and impressive stunt as Maynilad Spokesman in the early 2000s

when he proved to national media that the treated water supplied by the water district is

safe by drinking tap water from the faucet.

At the Philippine Information Agency, our role was basically to drum up developmental

programs of the government and serve as a sounding board to policy makers. During

presidential visits, PIA serves as the Malacanang extension of the Office of the Press

Secretary. After my six month training in Japan on video production in 1992-93, PIA

teamed up with the Cordillera News Agency and I became the Technical Director of a

community cable TV program called “This is Baguio TV Show”. Above photos shows me

with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Sen. Orly Mercado.

Posterity – Baguio City’s Mansion House is considered as the Malacanang Palace of

North Philippines. Since the early 90s, my wife Helen, the regional head of Philippine

Information Agency-CAR shown in extreme left represents the Press Secretary

whenever the later is not around. The group shown with President Fidel V. Ramos that

include me are members of Baguio media practitioners including staff of PIA-CAR. The

threesome photo above shows me, former actor and news director Ed Finlan and my

wife Helen Tibaldo of PIA.

My stint working under the Office of the President for years as Information Officer of PIA

has been very helpful to my professional growth as a developmental communicator

Over a Decade in DTI

Exploring what many refer to as greener pastures, I accepted a lateral transfer from PIA

to the Department of Trade and Industry-CAR after completing the hiring process and

panel interviews with about eight other applicants. I was hired as Information Officer III

which is equivalent to a provincial manager in PIA. As the lone media specialist of the

DTI regional office, my task is to see to it that the public is well informed about the

programs and projects being undertaken by DTI as a whole. I consider my membership

to the Baguio Correspondent and Broadcasters Club (BCBC), Association of

Government Information Officers-Cordillera (ASGIOCO) and accreditation to the

Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) as an edge in terms of networking

with media and releasing information materials. As occasional host and technical

director of the cable community program Cordillera Skyline aired over Skycable-12

through the Cordillera News Agency, we often feature interviews focusing on consumer

welfare and trade promotions. Special coverage on DTI initiated programs like

IMPAKABSAT regional trade fair were also shown in the cable program.

In our promotional activities, we do not only tap and utilize tri-media. We often allow our

inherent skills to be exploited if only to promote local industries and help consumers.

Despite the use of varied digital platforms of information technology, radio broadcasting is still very much

relevant in the uplands especially to listeners in far flung areas. Composite photo above shows me as one

of the guests of DZWT in the PIA Hour with anchorwoman Mary Langpawan and Carlito Dar of PIA as

interviewers.

On regional news, my office is just one call or text message away from most of the major television

networks that are based in North Luzon. Atty. Samuel Gallardo of DTI’s Consumer Protection Division

(CPD) is the usual interviewee on consumer welfare concerns but the Information Officer also faces the

camera to discuss DTI related matters in the absence of Gallardo, the provincial heads and the Regional

Director.

Japan Scholarship

I passed technical screenings and evaluation procedures conducted by the Manila office of the National

Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and flew to Japan for a scholarship on Video Production by the

Japanese government. From September 17, 1993 to March 23, 1993, I underwent rigid course on audio

visual production that has units in Nihonggo, Photography, Animation, Sound Recording, Electronic News

Gathering and Editing. We used top-of-the-line Sony Betacam cameras and editing suites with AB Roll

functions. I finished the course with a group project output about Okinawan Music and completed several

individual works. We also had a chance to visit animation studios and observetelevision broadcasting at the

NHK TV station in Tokyo.

Part Time College Instructor

After my six month training in Japan on Video Production as a scholar under the Colombo Plan of Japan

International Cooperation Agency in the early 90s, I was invited to teach related subjects at the Baguio

Colleges Foundation. I taught Photography on a part-time basis to Mass communication students from

1993 to about 1997 that includes the use of films and mechanical cameras. We shared the school’s

darkroom facilities with the criminology department and included among my students were three visually

impaired scholars and I had to device a different approach so that they can take pictures even with their

visual handicap. I handled Acting and directing and Radio-Television Production subjects at BCF before the

school achieved its university status and became the University of the Cordilleras. By 2008, I was invited to

teach at the University of Baguio by the Bautista family and I soon spent Saturdays at the school which is

about a stone’s throw away from my place which is within the university belt.

Above photos shows me with my UB (upper 4) and UC (lower 2) communication students

Media Newseum Curator

As the in-house curator and owner of the Baguio Media Newseum, part of my edutainment package is to

brief visitors and guests on how communications evolved from ancient times to present day use of digital

technology. To simplify my 10-15 minute orientation, I discuss and introduce what I refer to as the four

horsemen of the information super highway namely; Samuel FB Morse, Thomas Alba Edison, Alexander

Graham Bell and Guglielmo Marconi who invented devices that made us communicate better and faster.

The Media Newseum has a gallery showcasing various telecommunication tools and gadgets. It also has a

radio, announcer’s booth, a television studio, a media library, a printing sala, an atelier and a coffee corner

for taking selfies. Visitors can actually do mock broadcasting and recording using the newseum’s media

facilities.

Community Cable Program Host

We have maintained our community and public affairs program over the years from 1993 to late 2015 when

Skycable Baguio’s Ch12 had a major program reformatting. Before Sky-12, I actually hosted programs over

Viacomm and Mountain View Cable and had initially put up programs as early as 1989 when PIA produced

Info-link TV shows that were brought to the government’s Ch-8 tower in Mt. Sto. Tomas for airing.