ABS CBN and ME

Today, May 14, 2007, I decided to write how ABSCBN came to being.

By 1945, the end of WWII was still fresh in the air my father urged me to go to a vocational school to learn a trade to keep out of mischief and prepare for college. Very few schools were existing at the time and finishing a vocational course could land you a job and go to college in night school.

Naturally, I consented with much hesitation, since at 20 I was more inclined to loaf around with friends aimlessly and my father was afraid I will end up in trouble. He enrolled me at Feati Institute of Technology right at the foot of Sta. Cruz bridge, quite near our rented apartment at 230 Mayhaligue in Sta. Cruz district. After finishing a two year course in Aeronautical Radio Operations I took a government licensure examination and secured a Radiotelephone Operators License.

This license, was a requirement to get a radio operations job at the time. My father approached Manuel Marquez,( married to my cousin Pilar(Nena) Carballo )a banker and a close associate of Don Eugenio Lopez to help me land a job at the Far Eastern Air Transport Inc.(FEATI) called the FEATI AIRLINES. These were the early days of air transport using leftover C54’s troop transport aircrafts of the US Airforce. They were used commercially as is with bucket seats as used by US Army paratroopers. The only other airline in the country was PAL by the Sorianos.

I learned a lot working with FEATI since I was assigned Aircraft Radio Maintenance and as a newcomer and trainee I could not complain. It was hard work but I learned a lot about the aircrafts radio system so much so that I knew more about the system than my immediate boss and earned his respect.

As planned, I went to Engineering School after work, also at FEATI. After sometime, Don Eugenio Lopez decided to sell the airline to Don Andres Soriano of PAL. The sale included FEATI’s workforce with it.

While at PAL, we resented being treated as second class citizens as we were always assigned the graveyard shift, 9:00pm to 6:00am. Of course we continually complain. We felt that they expected us to do that since it was a good ground to fire us. I have loved having a job and when I lost it I was so disappointed, because I was beginning to have dreams of my future and acquiring better skills and higher education could pave the way to my success.

One idle day, my compadre, Pablo (cant recall his last name) came over to our house for a visit. He bragged that he has landed a job and asked me if I was interested since the company (Bolinao E.C) needed more radio maintenance technicians.

The next day, I went to Bolinao Electronics Corp. At Grace Park.
I was immediately hired after a personal interview with Mr. James B. Lindenberg, the General Manager.(Bolinao E,C. photo 1947)

Everything seems to fall in the right places and my plans of doing a good job, improving my skills and going to college in night school are being realized. In no time my skills and work ethics were noticed and was given responsible assignments.

It was 1948 and at 23 was assigned to put up and operate a radiophone circuit from Lepanto Mines Corp. up in Mangkayan, Mountain Province to Manila with Harry T. Chaney Jr.(Slim) who will later be Vice President of Bolinao Elect.Corp.

During that time PLDT did not have enough facilities to service remote areas specially a copper mine facility, five hours by bus from Bagiuo City. That’s why the company needed a means of connecting to PLDTManila for their phonepatch & communications requirements.

On Sundays when the system is not in use, I make personal calls to Manila to talk to my family and at times with Rosalina (Rosy) Ochoa my fiancé of three years. We talked for hours often forgetting lunch unmindfull that we were being monitored by my local friends in Lepanto. The frequency of the radio facility was on the shortwave band and the common radio at the time were surplus US Army radio receivers and they all have shortwave bands.

After our radio chat I join my local friends who have been missing me for the day and would start teasing me by repeating most of our personal conversations over the radio.

After seven(7) months at Mangkayan, I was able to come home and report back to the home office. During those months, I was able to train a local boy for the radio operations and we were sure the system for Lepanto Mining will alwys be operational.
Bolinao was doing good in the modification and refurbishing of war surplus equipment and manufactured parts for radio equipment like transformers, induction coils, sheet metal cabinets etc. that it has in it’s employ more than a hundred employees.(BEC photo,1949).

Bussiness was good but it was suffering from very scarce cash flow and employees have to bear with delayed pay. Those who believe in the company stayed on their jobs with high hopes for the future.

By this time, Bolinao was venturing to the radio broadcasting business and established, Bolinao Broadcasting Corp. Slim Chaney told me to stick with him for he has good plans for me. I did not give it a thought as I felt that he was just motivating me.

One day, Mr. Lindenberg called Slim and I and announced that we could proceed to build a radio transmitter for “DZBC- 1000kilohertz, Bolinao Broadcasting Corp. Since importing a factory made equipment from abroad is not an option, we have to build one, from the US Army Signal Corp surplus which we had plenty of. Slim had the idea of putting together 2-600 watt transmitters,theUS Army Signal Corp. BC 610.

These transmitters used by the US Army field units deliver 600 watts of power on CW [morse code]transmission and about 500watts of power for voice transmission. Communications transmitters have limited frequency response characteristics since they were designed for voice communications only 50- 5000hertz range are required for good voice transmissions.

In radio broadcasting, 50- 18000 hertz frequency response is required for pleasant listening.

Slim and I worked almost around the clock converting the communications transmitter into a radio broadcast equipment trying a number of experimenting, modifications and trial and error methods. There are moments we get tired and frustrated but never gave up. We felt so immersed and dedicated in the project we never stopped working at it.

My father could not figure out that my work keeps me out of the house most of the time and after coming home late to barely eat and get a good sleep, here comes Slim picking me up. The station does not sound right,he starts saying, Lets go find out what we can do. And so we get there and make some modifications and will only go back home if we were both satisfied that we have done the station good. The station got popular in no time and got good sponsors,Proctol and Gamble, Colgate, Palmolive, Listerine and others.

We had good announcing staff moving from the other station MBC DZRH,& DZPI . Personalities like Vero Perfecto, Dick Taylor. Ray Cordova, Bessie Castaneda, Liela Benitez, Phil Delfino, Ben Viduya Jimmy Rustia and Max Garcia. (photo of me with headphones working on a tape recording equip. also photos of Dick Taylor & Ray Cordova in DZBC announce booth).

By 1949 Slim and I started to build a 1kw transmitter which we copied from DCBC’s brand new Gates Transmitter, imported by J.B.Lindenberg. We loved that transmitter so much since it was our first taste of a real stuff, not the surplus that was around us. We were successful making the Gates transmitter replica and Slim and I with a bunch of skilled Bolinao workers brought the replica to Bunuan Beach in Lingayen Pangasinan and put up Bolinao’s first provincial station, DZRI (Radio Ilocos).

After sometime operating in that Bolinao warehouse at Little Baguio in San Juan (behind Iglecia ni Christo’s E. Manalo residence) I was told to start wiring and cabling, radio studio design and modification of the 4th floor Republic Super Market bldg. at Rizal Ave.and Florentino Torres streets in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

It was about 1951 that we started radio operations at the Republic Super Market Bldg.
The operations both technical and production greatly improved. It was at this time when Judge Antonio Quirino got interested and bought a big share in stocks of Bolinao Electronics Corp. This situation provided an opportunity to expand and add another Radio station that will later be called DZAQ at 50 kilowatts.(note “AQ” for Antonio Quirino) A larger land area was required for the 2 transmitters and the transmitting site got located at Angono, Rizal.

The operations was getting bigger, the programs getting better and popular and going to Television was an option the thinktank could not avoid. Judge Quirino’s brother, Elpidio, was the President of the Philippines. Putting up the first Television station in the Philippines would be a rallying point for reelection on Nov. 1953. Judge Quirino came to know about me due to my regular involvement in difficult projects and my regular coverage of the Presidents monthly “Fireside Chat” at the Study room of the President & always with Vero Perfecto. Vero and I were permanent structures where ever the President has to be covered for radio broadcast.

It was the last week of May 1953 ,Vero and I accompanied Pres. Qurino aboard the presidential yatch to record all of the president’s speeches along the way. I remember so well that at that time, my wife was due to deliver our third baby by the first week of April. So I was somewhat hesitant to go.

Anyway the last stop of the presidential trip was the pineapple plantation in Bukidnon. I was given 3 large pineapples I could hardly carry. Everyone in the entourage got their share. Never saw so many pineapples in my life. My mother in law was so awed by the size of the pineapples and shared some with relatives and friends. By this time my wife’s relatives and neighbors are taking notice of my stature and position in my place of work but sometimes wonder why I get very little pay. The cash situation of Bolinao was very poor at the time and we just got partial pay checks until things got better. Those who believe in the company stayed with the same dedication worth remembering. At that time I realized what Slim told me sometime back..”stick with me boy, and you will go places”.

I have been promoted Supervisor then Operations Supervisor,a number of times along the way and by 1953 I was receiving a monthly salary of Php. 250.00.(US$ exchange rate:1US$ = Php.2.00). This rate was considered very above average since the minimum monthly pay was Php. 100.00- 120.00/mo. To go back to when I got home from Bukidnon, Rosy has given birth on April 9th. The family all conspired and told me that the new baby is a girl again. They knew I wanted to have a boy so much after the first two girls.

They all waited for the time for diaper change and they all wanted me to do the honors for my first diaper change on the new baby. Anxiuosly and as a father I was happy to obliged. When I unpinned the diaper, I almost jumped with joy to find out that we had a boy this time, and everybody enjoyed the clean fun. The next events are so close to my heart because I felt that God was molding me for what I will become.

I got to the office on time as usual. I commute between Sta. Rosa, Laguna and Manila for work. Sometimes I don’t go home when I am duty bound to stay overnight and work on the equipment.

In broadcasting when a discrepancy or equipment malfunction is noticed, it has to be worked on after sign off at 12:00 midnight so it can be ready and normal before sign on at 5:00am the next day. Nobody tells you these. Its just a desire, a dedication, a duty and your love for broadcast.

These more or less regular routine can’t escape my wife’s and her relatives to wonder what I am doing almost suspecting I was fooling around. It took a while before they realized that working for broadcast is like a soldier fighting for his country. “Love, dedication and unselfish service”.

On this day, I was busy doing maintenance work on the tape recorders when I was called for a meeting in the managers office. Slim Chaney, Cady Carandang & Joe Navarro were already there. Judge Quirino, and Eddie Martelino (Operations Manager) revealed to the group that the company will launch the first television station in the country and must be on the air within the year.

Slim, Cady, Joe & I were chosen to spearhead the project never realizing that we would be pioneering on history.

Arrangements were made with the Radio Corporation of America(RCA) to provide us with the equipment and provide the four(4) of us television training at the RCA Radio Institute and factory in Camden, New Jersey, USA.

Joe trained in TV news film production, Slim, Cady & I updated on television technology since we have the electronics technology basics for radio broadcast, we have to be introduced to television broadcast technology at the RCA Institute in Camden an exclusive school for RCA engineers.
These included regular school hours and hands on training at the factory and service facilities.

These events were so encouraging and overwhelming my family and relatives were proud of me because they are sure I am on the road to success.

By Sept. that year the vacant lot across Judge Quirino’s compound in sitio ALTO in San Juan was a scene of workers, putting up a small transmitter building and erection of a television tower just behind it. By this time the company name is known as: Alto Broadcasting System (ABS).
The Quirino compound is called “Sitio Alto”. Alto stands for “Alelie – Tony” . Alelie is Judge Quirino’s wife.

By October that year, the first television station was on the air as, “ABS Channel 3” in black and white. I was given the responsibility to operate and maintain the TV Transmitter Operations as Supervisor with a monthly pay of Php. 300.00.
The film chain equipment was also installed in the same building to complete the basic TV broadcast with film. The proposed Live studio was still under constraction at the Republic Super Market Bldg.

By this time Judge Quirino told me to live in one of the cottages in the compound besides the tower so I would be readily available for the operations.

This meant that I have to uproot my family from Sta. Rosa and move to San Juan across Sitio Alto.

By this time I had the designation of Television Operations Supervisor.

The TV station signs on at 1:00pm with a Test Pattern up to 3:00pm with recorded music to give TV set owners and most particularly TV technicians to have a TV signal on the air for purposes of TV receiver set alignments.

TV receiver sets during that period were not as sophisticated as the TV sets today.
They were bulky using Vacuum tubes and requires an experienced technician to adjust, align or service them for optimum performance.

We go to regular programming after 3:00pm running 16mm film and 35mm slides mostly from foreign embassies and contributors of documentaries. To provide variety we converted the living room of one of the cottages to a one live camera studio,
We placed a disc jockey set-up and came upwith a live disc jockey show.

I recall Bobby Ng and Jo San Diego taking turns on that program. Vero Perfecto would have an hour or two live on camera called “Uncle Vero’s Childrens Show” urging the neighborhood kids to come over and join the show with some prizes. Of course my children, two girls, Gilda 3yrs and Belinda 2yrs old are always the mainstays of the program.

Without anything to show on the air, these programs served us a process of training,and learning the ropes of television. We had a captive audience, being the only TV station on the air. In fact nobody at that time knew programming any better.

With these limited equipment, skills and knowhow, we valiantly covered the Basketball Games for the Asian Games that was currently being held in the country. We would haul the camera equipment to Rizal Memorial Staduim for the coverage and bring them back to the station after. It was so tiring but we learned a lot operating TV Cameras, Studio to Transmitter microwave links, and production work for sports coverages.

By the time the Super Market Studio was ready, Live TV shows were attempted and Father James B. Reuter was the first one to venture & put Cerano de Vergerac, Sta Cita and Mary Rose etc. with the Ateneo Drama Guild. Prominent personalities of the cast included Cecile Quidote Alvarez, Ike Lozada, Marilou Cacho who later married actor Nestor de Villa, Mary Rose Jacinto etc.

Caltex put up the “Pista ng Caltex”, & “Rhum Fiesta” was hosted by Vero Perfecto
Video tape recording did not exist at the time so all programs were done live and everything was learned the hard way.

In 1956, Geny Lopez Jr. of Chronicle Broadcasting Network with DZXL & DZXL-FM operating at the Chronicle Bldg. at Aduana, Intramuros was planning to go to Television as CBN Channel 9.

At this time I told myself that my family will start to need more resources as it will require sooner or later, and when Geny Lopez Jr. offered me a pay increase of Fifty Pesos(Php.50.00) making my salary at Php. 350.00/mo. I agreed.

When we shook hands he said,”Romy, thank you, I want you to grow with the company and I am sure you will.” I again uprooted my family and went back to Sta. Rosa, Laguna. I was thinking, the children will soon be of school age. I would not be able to afford to put them in a decent school in Manila. Fortunately and by coincidence, the Canossa School was established in Sta. Rosa run by the Canossian Sisters of Italy.

The Canossian Sisters are known to run very high standard schools and very affordable.

These were the most important factors that made me decide to move to CBN unmindfull of the disgrace, if ever, I will have to endure with my departure from ABS. The future of my family comes first and foremost.

Starting from scratch, I worked on the CBN studios with Pampilo Paras, a long time technical associate and friend. We were compatible in any broadcast work and worked as a team.


CBN Channel 9 was barely getting started when the news that Judge Antonio Quirino sold his Bolinao shares to Don Eugenio Lopez and as the story goes, the sale happened over dinner between Judge Quirino and Don Eugenio and the sales contract signed on a table napkin.

This was the birth of ABS CBN. Channels 3 & 9.

Between these periods, the Monserat Broadcasting System was bought by ABSCBN and for a while carried the letter head: ABS CBN MBS.

MBS was eventually bought by Halili Tansport Corp. for captive radio listening on their busses.

Before the 1960’s, Roberto Benedicto, an associate of Pres. F. Marcos wanted to have a TV station. Being friends, Marcos asked Don Eugenio to give Channel 9 to Benedicto.
Don Eugenio could not refuse Marcos at the time but he also wanted to have two(2) TV stations.


Geny, immediately created a think tank to satisfy his father by all means.

These are the events & results:

At the time, the existing channels on the VHF TV band as mandated by the Radio Control Board are, channels 3,5,7, 9, 11 & 13.

Channel 2 was being used for educational TV.

Since channel 2 is in the commercial band, ABSCBN requested Radio Control to move the educational channel to channel 14, the start of the UHF band and allocate the VHF band to commercial TV. Radio Control agreed.

So the agreed configuration on the VHF band was:Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, & 13.

These increased the VHF band to 7 channels. Benedicto got his channel 9 and ABS CBN got 2. Channels 2 & 4. Everybody was happy.

TV Channels 2 & 4, with Radio stations DZBC, DZAQ, DZXL & DZXL-fm was quite a large operation.


In 1960, Geny decided to create the following Divisions in the corporation:
Television Division
Radio Division
Engineering Division
Provincial Division
Administrative Division

The Radio, Administrative, Sales & Provincial Divisions were based at the Chronicle Bldg. at Aduana, Intramuros.

Television & Engineering Divisions were based at
A building owned by the Lopezes housing the pent house of Vice President Fernando Lopez, brother of Don Eugenio, located on Roxas blvd. In Pasay City was designated the TV Division Bldg.

A number of popular TV programs were created at the time like, “ An Evening with Pilita”, “Lyn Madrigal Show”, “ Student Canteen”, Magandng Tanghali” with Pancho Magalona, live promos on the hourly breaks, “Cowboy Hal” with Hal Bowie, the evening news with Henry Halasan, etc.


These shows also quested prominent Hollywood stars like Joni James, Kirk Douglas, Pat Boone and others

By 1962, ABSCBN started to air films in color. Plans for the construction of a broadcast complex in QC where the channels 2 & 4 transmitters & TV tower are located has also started and will house all the future offices, TV and radio studios.

The complete move to the ABSCBN complex in QC started in early 1967.

I remember that I returned from Japan in Nov. 1967 on a Colombo scholarship grant on Advance TV Technology at the NHK Institute when I was told that my office at the new complex was ready for occupancy.

I was TV Engineering Director under the TV Division and eventually promoted to Assistant Vice President for the Engineering Division while concurrent TV Engineering Director, Building Superintendent and Chief Security Officer, and member of the Planning Board until Sept. 11, 1972.Today, May 14, 2007, I decided to write how ABSCBN came to being.

By 1945, the end of WWII was still fresh in the air my father urged me to go to a vocational school to learn a trade to keep out of mischief and prepare for college. Very few schools were existing at the time and finishing a vocational course could land you a job and go to college in night school.

Naturally, I consented with much hesitation, since at 20 I was more inclined to loaf around with friends aimlessly and my father was afraid I will end up in trouble. He enrolled me at Feati Institute of Technology right at the foot of Sta. Cruz bridge, quite near our rented apartment at 230 Mayhaligue in Sta. Cruz district. After finishing a two year course in Aeronautical Radio Operations I took a government licensure examination and secured a Radiotelephone Operators License.

This license, was a requirement to get a radio operations job at the time. My father approached Manuel Marquez,( married to my cousin Pilar(Nena) Carballo )a banker and a close associate of Don Eugenio Lopez to help me land a job at the Far Eastern Air Transport Inc.(FEATI) called the FEATI AIRLINES. These were the early days of air transport using leftover C54’s troop transport aircrafts of the US Airforce. They were used commercially as is with bucket seats as used by US Army paratroopers. The only other airline in the country was PAL by the Sorianos.

I learned a lot working with FEATI since I was assigned Aircraft Radio Maintenance and as a newcomer and trainee I could not complain. It was hard work but I learned a lot about the aircrafts radio system so much so that I knew more about the system than my immediate boss and earned his respect.

As planned, I went to Engineering School after work, also at FEATI. After sometime, Don Eugenio Lopez decided to sell the airline to Don Andres Soriano of PAL. The sale included FEATI’s workforce with it.

While at PAL, we resented being treated as second class citizens as we were always assigned the graveyard shift, 9:00pm to 6:00am. Of course we continually complain. We felt that they expected us to do that since it was a good ground to fire us. I have loved having a job and when I lost it I was so disappointed, because I was beginning to have dreams of my future and acquiring better skills and higher education could pave the way to my success.

One idle day, my compadre, Pablo (cant recall his last name) came over to our house for a visit. He bragged that he has landed a job and asked me if I was interested since the company (Bolinao E.C) needed more radio maintenance technicians.

The next day, I went to Bolinao Electronics Corp. At Grace Park.
I was immediately hired after a personal interview with Mr. James B. Lindenberg, the General Manager.(Bolinao E,C. photo 1947)

Everything seems to fall in the right places and my plans of doing a good job, improving my skills and going to college in night school are being realized. In no time my skills and work ethics were noticed and was given responsible assignments.

It was 1948 and at 23 was assigned to put up and operate a radiophone circuit from Lepanto Mines Corp. up in Mangkayan, Mountain Province to Manila with Harry T. Chaney Jr.(Slim) who will later be Vice President of Bolinao Elect.Corp.

During that time PLDT did not have enough facilities to service remote areas specially a copper mine facility, five hours by bus from Bagiuo City. That’s why the company needed a means of connecting to PLDTManila for their phonepatch & communications requirements.

On Sundays when the system is not in use, I make personal calls to Manila to talk to my family and at times with Rosalina (Rosy) Ochoa my fiancé of three years. We talked for hours often forgetting lunch unmindfull that we were being monitored by my local friends in Lepanto. The frequency of the radio facility was on the shortwave band and the common radio at the time were surplus US Army radio receivers and they all have shortwave bands.

After our radio chat I join my local friends who have been missing me for the day and would start teasing me by repeating most of our personal conversations over the radio.

After seven(7) months at Mangkayan, I was able to come home and report back to the home office. During those months, I was able to train a local boy for the radio operations and we were sure the system for Lepanto Mining will alwys be operational.
Bolinao was doing good in the modification and refurbishing of war surplus equipment and manufactured parts for radio equipment like transformers, induction coils, sheet metal cabinets etc. that it has in it’s employ more than a hundred employees.(BEC photo,1949).

Bussiness was good but it was suffering from very scarce cash flow and employees have to bear with delayed pay. Those who believe in the company stayed on their jobs with high hopes for the future.

By this time, Bolinao was venturing to the radio broadcasting business and established, Bolinao Broadcasting Corp. Slim Chaney told me to stick with him for he has good plans for me. I did not give it a thought as I felt that he was just motivating me.

One day, Mr. Lindenberg called Slim and I and announced that we could proceed to build a radio transmitter for “DZBC- 1000kilohertz, Bolinao Broadcasting Corp. Since importing a factory made equipment from abroad is not an option, we have to build one, from the US Army Signal Corp surplus which we had plenty of. Slim had the idea of putting together 2-600 watt transmitters,theUS Army Signal Corp. BC 610.

These transmitters used by the US Army field units deliver 600 watts of power on CW [morse code]transmission and about 500watts of power for voice transmission. Communications transmitters have limited frequency response characteristics since they were designed for voice communications only 50- 5000hertz range are required for good voice transmissions.

In radio broadcasting, 50- 18000 hertz frequency response is required for pleasant listening.

Slim and I worked almost around the clock converting the communications transmitter into a radio broadcast equipment trying a number of experimenting, modifications and trial and error methods. There are moments we get tired and frustrated but never gave up. We felt so immersed and dedicated in the project we never stopped working at it.

My father could not figure out that my work keeps me out of the house most of the time and after coming home late to barely eat and get a good sleep, here comes Slim picking me up. The station does not sound right,he starts saying, Lets go find out what we can do. And so we get there and make some modifications and will only go back home if we were both satisfied that we have done the station good. The station got popular in no time and got good sponsors,Proctol and Gamble, Colgate, Palmolive, Listerine and others.

We had good announcing staff moving from the other station MBC DZRH,& DZPI . Personalities like Vero Perfecto, Dick Taylor. Ray Cordova, Bessie Castaneda, Liela Benitez, Phil Delfino, Ben Viduya Jimmy Rustia and Max Garcia. (photo of me with headphones working on a tape recording equip. also photos of Dick Taylor & Ray Cordova in DZBC announce booth).

By 1949 Slim and I started to build a 1kw transmitter which we copied from DCBC’s brand new Gates Transmitter, imported by J.B.Lindenberg. We loved that transmitter so much since it was our first taste of a real stuff, not the surplus that was around us. We were successful making the Gates transmitter replica and Slim and I with a bunch of skilled Bolinao workers brought the replica to Bunuan Beach in Lingayen Pangasinan and put up Bolinao’s first provincial station, DZRI (Radio Ilocos).

After sometime operating in that Bolinao warehouse at Little Baguio in San Juan (behind Iglecia ni Christo’s E. Manalo residence) I was told to start wiring and cabling, radio studio design and modification of the 4th floor Republic Super Market bldg. at Rizal Ave.and Florentino Torres streets in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

It was about 1951 that we started radio operations at the Republic Super Market Bldg.
The operations both technical and production greatly improved. It was at this time when Judge Antonio Quirino got interested and bought a big share in stocks of Bolinao Electronics Corp. This situation provided an opportunity to expand and add another Radio station that will later be called DZAQ at 50 kilowatts.(note “AQ” for Antonio Quirino) A larger land area was required for the 2 transmitters and the transmitting site got located at Angono, Rizal.

The operations was getting bigger, the programs getting better and popular and going to Television was an option the thinktank could not avoid. Judge Quirino’s brother, Elpidio, was the President of the Philippines. Putting up the first Television station in the Philippines would be a rallying point for reelection on Nov. 1953. Judge Quirino came to know about me due to my regular involvement in difficult projects and my regular coverage of the Presidents monthly “Fireside Chat” at the Study room of the President & always with Vero Perfecto. Vero and I were permanent structures where ever the President has to be covered for radio broadcast.

It was the last week of May 1953 ,Vero and I accompanied Pres. Qurino aboard the presidential yatch to record all of the president’s speeches along the way. I remember so well that at that time, my wife was due to deliver our third baby by the first week of April. So I was somewhat hesitant to go.

Anyway the last stop of the presidential trip was the pineapple plantation in Bukidnon. I was given 3 large pineapples I could hardly carry. Everyone in the entourage got their share. Never saw so many pineapples in my life. My mother in law was so awed by the size of the pineapples and shared some with relatives and friends. By this time my wife’s relatives and neighbors are taking notice of my stature and position in my place of work but sometimes wonder why I get very little pay. The cash situation of Bolinao was very poor at the time and we just got partial pay checks until things got better. Those who believe in the company stayed with the same dedication worth remembering. At that time I realized what Slim told me sometime back..”stick with me boy, and you will go places”.

I have been promoted Supervisor then Operations Supervisor,a number of times along the way and by 1953 I was receiving a monthly salary of Php. 250.00.(US$ exchange rate:1US$ = Php.2.00). This rate was considered very above average since the minimum monthly pay was Php. 100.00- 120.00/mo. To go back to when I got home from Bukidnon, Rosy has given birth on April 9th. The family all conspired and told me that the new baby is a girl again. They knew I wanted to have a boy so much after the first two girls.

They all waited for the time for diaper change and they all wanted me to do the honors for my first diaper change on the new baby. Anxiuosly and as a father I was happy to obliged. When I unpinned the diaper, I almost jumped with joy to find out that we had a boy this time, and everybody enjoyed the clean fun. The next events are so close to my heart because I felt that God was molding me for what I will become.

I got to the office on time as usual. I commute between Sta. Rosa, Laguna and Manila for work. Sometimes I don’t go home when I am duty bound to stay overnight and work on the equipment.

In broadcasting when a discrepancy or equipment malfunction is noticed, it has to be worked on after sign off at 12:00 midnight so it can be ready and normal before sign on at 5:00am the next day. Nobody tells you these. Its just a desire, a dedication, a duty and your love for broadcast.

These more or less regular routine can’t escape my wife’s and her relatives to wonder what I am doing almost suspecting I was fooling around. It took a while before they realized that working for broadcast is like a soldier fighting for his country. “Love, dedication and unselfish service”.

On this day, I was busy doing maintenance work on the tape recorders when I was called for a meeting in the managers office. Slim Chaney, Cady Carandang & Joe Navarro were already there. Judge Quirino, and Eddie Martelino (Operations Manager) revealed to the group that the company will launch the first television station in the country and must be on the air within the year.

Slim, Cady, Joe & I were chosen to spearhead the project never realizing that we would be pioneering on history.

Arrangements were made with the Radio Corporation of America(RCA) to provide us with the equipment and provide the four(4) of us television training at the RCA Radio Institute and factory in Camden, New Jersey, USA.

Joe trained in TV news film production, Slim, Cady & I updated on television technology since we have the electronics technology basics for radio broadcast, we have to be introduced to television broadcast technology at the RCA Institute in Camden an exclusive school for RCA engineers.
These included regular school hours and hands on training at the factory and service facilities.

These events were so encouraging and overwhelming my family and relatives were proud of me because they are sure I am on the road to success.

By Sept. that year the vacant lot across Judge Quirino’s compound in sitio ALTO in San Juan was a scene of workers, putting up a small transmitter building and erection of a television tower just behind it. By this time the company name is known as: Alto Broadcasting System (ABS).
The Quirino compound is called “Sitio Alto”. Alto stands for “Alelie – Tony” . Alelie is Judge Quirino’s wife.

By October that year, the first television station was on the air as, “ABS Channel 3” in black and white. I was given the responsibility to operate and maintain the TV Transmitter Operations as Supervisor with a monthly pay of Php. 300.00.
The film chain equipment was also installed in the same building to complete the basic TV broadcast with film. The proposed Live studio was still under constraction at the Republic Super Market Bldg.

By this time Judge Quirino told me to live in one of the cottages in the compound besides the tower so I would be readily available for the operations.

This meant that I have to uproot my family from Sta. Rosa and move to San Juan across Sitio Alto.

By this time I had the designation of Television Operations Supervisor.

The TV station signs on at 1:00pm with a Test Pattern up to 3:00pm with recorded music to give TV set owners and most particularly TV technicians to have a TV signal on the air for purposes of TV receiver set alignments.

TV receiver sets during that period were not as sophisticated as the TV sets today.
They were bulky using Vacuum tubes and requires an experienced technician to adjust, align or service them for optimum performance.

We go to regular programming after 3:00pm running 16mm film and 35mm slides mostly from foreign embassies and contributors of documentaries. To provide variety we converted the living room of one of the cottages to a one live camera studio,
We placed a disc jockey set-up and came upwith a live disc jockey show.

I recall Bobby Ng and Jo San Diego taking turns on that program. Vero Perfecto would have an hour or two live on camera called “Uncle Vero’s Childrens Show” urging the neighborhood kids to come over and join the show with some prizes. Of course my children, two girls, Gilda 3yrs and Belinda 2yrs old are always the mainstays of the program.

Without anything to show on the air, these programs served us a process of training,and learning the ropes of television. We had a captive audience, being the only TV station on the air. In fact nobody at that time knew programming any better.

With these limited equipment, skills and knowhow, we valiantly covered the Basketball Games for the Asian Games that was currently being held in the country. We would haul the camera equipment to Rizal Memorial Staduim for the coverage and bring them back to the station after. It was so tiring but we learned a lot operating TV Cameras, Studio to Transmitter microwave links, and production work for sports coverages.

By the time the Super Market Studio was ready, Live TV shows were attempted and Father James B. Reuter was the first one to venture & put Cerano de Vergerac, Sta Cita and Mary Rose etc. with the Ateneo Drama Guild. Prominent personalities of the cast included Cecile Quidote Alvarez, Ike Lozada, Marilou Cacho who later married actor Nestor de Villa, Mary Rose Jacinto etc.

Caltex put up the “Pista ng Caltex”, & “Rhum Fiesta” was hosted by Vero Perfecto
Video tape recording did not exist at the time so all programs were done live and everything was learned the hard way.

In 1956, Geny Lopez Jr. of Chronicle Broadcasting Network with DZXL & DZXL-FM operating at the Chronicle Bldg. at Aduana, Intramuros was planning to go to Television as CBN Channel 9.

At this time I told myself that my family will start to need more resources as it will require sooner or later, and when Geny Lopez Jr. offered me a pay increase of Fifty Pesos(Php.50.00) making my salary at Php. 350.00/mo. I agreed.

When we shook hands he said,”Romy, thank you, I want you to grow with the company and I am sure you will.” I again uprooted my family and went back to Sta. Rosa, Laguna. I was thinking, the children will soon be of school age. I would not be able to afford to put them in a decent school in Manila. Fortunately and by coincidence, the Canossa School was established in Sta. Rosa run by the Canossian Sisters of Italy.

The Canossian Sisters are known to run very high standard schools and very affordable.

These were the most important factors that made me decide to move to CBN unmindfull of the disgrace, if ever, I will have to endure with my departure from ABS. The future of my family comes first and foremost.

Starting from scratch, I worked on the CBN studios with Pampilo Paras, a long time technical associate and friend. We were compatible in any broadcast work and worked as a team.


CBN Channel 9 was barely getting started when the news that Judge Antonio Quirino sold his Bolinao shares to Don Eugenio Lopez and as the story goes, the sale happened over dinner between Judge Quirino and Don Eugenio and the sales contract signed on a table napkin.

This was the birth of ABS CBN. Channels 3 & 9.

Between these periods, the Monserat Broadcasting System was bought by ABSCBN and for a while carried the letter head: ABS CBN MBS.

MBS was eventually bought by Halili Tansport Corp. for captive radio listening on their busses.

Before the 1960’s, Roberto Benedicto, an associate of Pres. F. Marcos wanted to have a TV station. Being friends, Marcos asked Don Eugenio to give Channel 9 to Benedicto.
Don Eugenio could not refuse Marcos at the time but he also wanted to have two(2) TV stations.


Geny, immediately created a think tank to satisfy his father by all means.

These are the events & results:

At the time, the existing channels on the VHF TV band as mandated by the Radio Control Board are, channels 3,5,7, 9, 11 & 13.

Channel 2 was being used for educational TV.

Since channel 2 is in the commercial band, ABSCBN requested Radio Control to move the educational channel to channel 14, the start of the UHF band and allocate the VHF band to commercial TV. Radio Control agreed.

So the agreed configuration on the VHF band was:Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, & 13.

These increased the VHF band to 7 channels. Benedicto got his channel 9 and ABS CBN got 2. Channels 2 & 4. Everybody was happy.

TV Channels 2 & 4, with Radio stations DZBC, DZAQ, DZXL & DZXL-fm was quite a large operation.


In 1960, Geny decided to create the following Divisions in the corporation:
Television Division
Radio Division
Engineering Division
Provincial Division
Administrative Division

The Radio, Administrative, Sales & Provincial Divisions were based at the Chronicle Bldg. at Aduana, Intramuros.

Television & Engineering Divisions were based at
A building owned by the Lopezes housing the pent house of Vice President Fernando Lopez, brother of Don Eugenio, located on Roxas blvd. In Pasay City was designated the TV Division Bldg.

A number of popular TV programs were created at the time like, “ An Evening with Pilita”, “Lyn Madrigal Show”, “ Student Canteen”, Magandng Tanghali” with Pancho Magalona, live promos on the hourly breaks, “Cowboy Hal” with Hal Bowie, the evening news with Henry Halasan, etc.


These shows also quested prominent Hollywood stars like Joni James, Kirk Douglas, Pat Boone and others

By 1962, ABSCBN started to air films in color. Plans for the construction of a broadcast complex in QC where the channels 2 & 4 transmitters & TV tower are located has also started and will house all the future offices, TV and radio studios.

The complete move to the ABSCBN complex in QC started in early 1967.

I remember that I returned from Japan in Nov. 1967 on a Colombo scholarship grant on Advance TV Technology at the NHK Institute when I was told that my office at the new complex was ready for occupancy.

I was TV Engineering Director under the TV Division and eventually promoted to Assistant Vice President for the Engineering Division while concurrent TV Engineering Director, Building Superintendent and Chief Security Officer, and member of the Planning Board until Sept. 11, 1972.

Comment from my 1st post - ABS CBN and Me

Anton Joaquin said...

Your very thorough chronolical essay on how Manila TV stations came about got me hooked until the very end, especially because I WAS THERE all this time as actor, director and eventually production manager of channel 13 TV under then then IBC corporate group composed of Tony Amor, Chick Parsons and the Baldwins. I stayed on for two years and then was terminated. All this time was in radio )circa 1954) through TV acting and writing. I now have a column in Philippine News, may I use some of your data in my coming column? I shall give credit to you and your blogsite. My email address is: tony.joaquin@gmail.com1



Brian said...

Thanks for sharing this story. I came across this when I was doing a search for my grandfather, who is Slim Chaney. Great to read about it!


**(Post by Myke Guisinga March 5, 2010 - while Lolo Romy is still in the hospital - recuperating from a leg surgery at UERM )