Filipinos worldwide can keep themselves updated on the latest developments in the May 9, 2016 elections through TV5’s ‘Bilang Pilipino‘ coverage.
News5 Chief Luchi Cruz-Valdes said it is the most extensive coverage the Kapatid Network has ever mounted. Valdes met with a few members of the media, including this blogger, at a luncheon at Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City earlier this week.
People can expect data-driven coverage across the network’s broadcast and social media channels, fresh from its success with the historic, eye-opening COMELEC-sponsored presidential debate in Cebu City earlier in April.
Valdes said, “You will find us on Facebook live stream and all the reporters will be reporting through their live stream phones. Maya’t maya magrereport sila and I think that’s exciting.”
“This has got to be the most exciting election post-Marcos, it has to. The race is so close. And even now na may nagpu-pull away, the feelings are so strong! Grabe sa social media,” she added.
The Coverage Plan
TV5 recently signed a partnership with the Philippine Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), which will do a parallel count of the votes together with Stratbase, a full-service public affairs and policy research consultancy headed by noted political analyst Professor Dindo Manhit, former Chair of the Political Science Department and a Senior Fellow of the La Salle Institute of Governance (LSIG) at De La Salle University. From 5:00AM on May 9, 2016 to 9:00AM on May 10, TV5 will mount uninterrupted coverage of the nationwide elections, with its corps of reporters and field correspondents reporting from all points of the archipelago in 28 hours of Bilang Pilipino’s special coverage.
A Very Competent News Team
Asked about the competitiveness of News5, the network’s news and public affairs bureau, Valdes said, “We felt that we were able to prove that even though we’re the third network and the smallest broadcast news organization, our skills equal and rival those of our competitors.”
“And at the end of the day, we have proven that it’s not just the numbers, it’s really the teamwork that goes into mounting such a debate. With the validation we got from the debate, we’d like to assure our viewers that we can walk step by step with our competitors. The only difference is that maybe your favorite telenovela is there in the other networks but when it comes to news, we are never far behind.”
“We’re also building our online community, we are! By the way, our 24-hour coverage will not just be on TV ha and radio. I will not just be on traditional media, it will be put also online. Ang maganda pag online you can be yourself. So far lumalaban na rin kami dun, we’re building our programming in social media, we have to, that’s where the world is going. We have come to accept that. But TV will not die. TV’s strength will always lie in live coverages and precisely TV’s strength will lie in news. The future of TV is not just in Game of Thrones. I think the big screen has a purpose,” the news chief added.
The Partners
Bilang Pilipino is a partnership of TV5 with PLDT, Smart, Cignal, The Philippine STAR, BusinessWorld, Radyo Singko, Radio Mindanao Network, Interaksyon.com, and Bloomberg Philippines. Its goal is to deliver news, information, opinion, and insights about the elections wherever and however Filipinos consume content. Other cooperating institutions include NAMFREL, PPCRV, CBCP, KBP; the academic communities of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Ateneo, UP, FEU, and UST; the Social Weather Stations, Makati Business Club, Philippine Business for Social Progress, and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. TV5 will also have PLDT Alpha, Voyager, and Talas as technology partners.
Check out bilangpilipino.com for the latest updates on the Bilang Pilipino campaign, or follow TV5’s Bilang Pilipino on Facebook and Twitter.