To kick off the celebration of 100 years of broadcasting in the Philippines (100 YBP), the Department of Broadcast Communication (DBC) will feature an eight-part series of a Palawan folk epic on March 31, Thursday, 1 p.m. over DZUP 1602 khz.
“Pag-uugat, Pagpapatuloy: Ang Epikong Dumaracol ng mga Tagbanua Kalamianen ng Hilagang Palawan” showcases never-before-heard recordings of the epic, calling to mind the primal origins of mass communication in pre-colonial times, which continues in the contemporary period.
The series’ succeeding episodes will be aired every Thursday from April 7 to May 19, at 1 p.m. and will be simulcast on the DZUP Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/dzup1602am).
The epic follows the adventures of the Tagbanua warrior and hero Dumaracol who established and maintained his community amidst challenges and strife and also narrates his life and love story. The epic, as sung by different sets of chanters, was recorded between 1997 and 2013 by DBC professor Eulalio Guieb III, PhD.
The first in the series of broadcast features the epic chanted by Santiago “Agoy” Agustin, a Tagbanua Kalamianen elder of Batas Island in Taytay, northern Palawan.
The series also features a discussion between Guieb and fellow DBC faculty, Prof. Elizabeth Enriquez, PhD, foremost critic and historian of Philippine radio and mass media.
The broadcast foregrounds the importance of human memory and the voice in the evolution of broadcasting.
According to information the DBC released, radio broadcasting in the Philippines is one of the oldest in the world and the oldest in Asia. Radio broadcasting in the Philippines began in 1922 during the American colonial era.
“Through that period and the periods that followed, and amid the challenges of television and Internet, Philippine radio has survived, grown, and evolved. On the other hand, television broadcasting started in 1953, following the war and the declaration of Philippine Independence, and during the early years of American-style democracy,” the DBC stated.
The broadcast centennial celebrations at UP, organized by the DBC and DZUP, in partnership with UP Visayas and the Philippine Studies Association, will be launched in June 2022 with the release of the 100 YBP website. It will highlight an academic conference from Oct. 18 to 21, 2022.
According to the DBC, the website will later be developed to be the archives of broadcasting in the Philippines or repository of broadcast materials and publications.
Other activities for the celebration are public lectures and webinars. All public events will be covered by DZUP 1602 and DZUP Online. For more information, contact the YBP Secretariat at 100ybp@up.edu.ph, or visit the DBC Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/bcdept). – With a report from the DBC