FROM the left side of the FM band (92.3), True FM was officially launched last November 4 (Monday) occupying the far right of the radio frequency (105.9) and leaving its original home, DWFM 92.3.

With provincial stations in Cebu, Tacloban, Ormoc and Cagayan de Oro, True FM signed on with the new early morning newscast, Good Morning, Bayan, anchored by Ruth Cabal. It was the maiden show on the newly-transferred True FM.

The radio brand of Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), True FM is a subsidiary of Media Quest Holdings, which owns TV5.

The key personalities in True FM include educator Maricel Halili, veteran news anchor and correspondent Laila Chikadora, CMMA (Catholic Mass Media Award) Hall of Famer as best advice program host Brother Jun Banaag or popularly Dr. Love.

There are also matchmaker every Sunday Anna Ramsey, the bridge to the listener’s problems in the government agencies Cheryl Cosim and sandalan ng mga puso Kuya Boy, with Ted Failon, DJ Chacha (real name is Czarina Balba-Guevarra), Cristy Fermin, Raffy Tulfo and Lourd de Veyra.

True FM will be seen on 105.9 Channel 19 on Cignal TV. Joining the True FM anchors and hosts is Operations Manager Cherry Bayle. “Hindi kami nabawasan,” Cherry said. “Nadagdagan pa nga (Ruth Cabal).

“On radio, our main concern will always be the sound. How loud, how strong our signal will be. We moved to a different location and that is one of the things we have to consider. We are taking care of that.

“That’s not really a problem, but we have to take care of our sound. Our location is different now. We have to make certain adjustments along the way. The transmitter is still in Antipolo, but different site.”

The move is a new challenge for the team. “The move is part of a bigger plan for us to grow bigger in the years to come,” explained Cherry. “We are not just on radio anymore, but TV, podcast and through digital. It’s a multi-platform strategy now.

“That’s a business decision for an expansion plan, so we need to fund it to grow bigger in the years to come. That’s a business decision. We need to deliver real news, real stories and true service. Totoo, tunay, tapat.

“The wonderful thing about it, the whole team is intact. The whole True FM family. Everybody is here. Walang umalis. All of us are still here. We’re all in it together. So there will not be any problem as far as everybody is concerned. That’s what we’re praying for.”

Meanwhile, Laila Chikadora only had happy memories with her team which they carried to their new home. “From the start, even from Radyo 5, which recently marked its 14th anniversary, malaking bahagi talaga ‘yung iniwan naming tahanan,” said Laila, whose real name is Jessica Asis.

“This is more exciting. Panibagong libro na ito, 105.9 FM. Mas malaki na ang playground mo. Hindi lang basta radio. We are seen on TV, we have podcast, YouTube Channel and social media platforms that the audience can watch out for.

“With regards to my show, ShoutOut, abangan niyo kasi every Friday, we also have pasabog. Kababalaghan. Not just stories that can jolt. We have a different formula on the mysteries.

“On TV, we will have guests, the OPM (Original Pilipino Music) bands who can do live sessions and a whole lot more. We will do more interaction with different bands and artists. It’s nice to have someone on the set whom you can talk to.

“At the same time, you engage the audience to phone in their questions. So from time to time, we read the question on air. Tuloy tuloy pa rin ang games, prizes. Most of all, high energy and good vibes to all those who are in tune.”

Laila attested she is different when it comes to delivering the news when she’s on board or just sitting down on radio. Her work was augmented. Aside from her 8 to 9:30 p.m. time slot, she has an afternoon show, mini-game that goes from 5:15 to 5:30 p.m.

“When you do the news, that’s serious,” Laila said. “When you’re sitting down, that’s not work for me. It’s my way of unwinding. Like a student, I have a vacant period in between. So I rest.

“The segment used to be part of my evening show, but they pulled it out and transferred it to an after slot. Nadagdagan ang work, but I’m happy with it. Sa news, they are very considerate with me.

“They give me time to rest after I suffered a silent stroke. That went without any symptoms. I just had a tension headache. Maybe I did so many things for news. But that’s part of the job.

“There’s no one working who doesn’t get stressed. We are just humans, not machines. My BP (blood pressure) went up. I was given medicines and an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) was recommended.”

Dr. Love is one of the most in-demand anchors on radio. “There were lots of ideas that were brought in,” said the veteran host. “In my program, we regularly inject a lot of segments. We added a segment from Face to Face.

“The purpose of that is to make the listeners more aware about what’s happening around. Let’s face it, those who are listening to Dr. Love, mga Maritess at chismosa. Ang sarap kasing pakinggan ang buhay ng iba, lalo na ang may away. That’s very typical.”

“On the regular space, I have the songs that I play, inspiring and spiritual. I also have the songs of Diomedes Matural, Ric Manrique, Sylvia La Torre. We feature OPM. We also have (young blind singer) Fatima Soriano, who helps us in giving reflections.

When he sits down on his radio show, Dr. Love cannot be a hypocrite. “I become a father, kuya and lolo to my listeners,” he said. “If I sugarcoat what I want to say, I don’t help the listener. I tell them the truth.

“There are times in our lives when we need the real talk. Kailangan magising ka at masaktan ka.”

Not surprisingly, even celebrities approach Dr. Love for advice. There were two male artists and a singer who came to him but they did not go on air. They asked for a solution after the story of their lives was presented.

Veteran actress Gina Pareño (real name Geraldine Acthley) became his friend after the latter sought advice from Dr. Love. She admitted that she ended up in the slammer after she took drugs. But she went through rehabilitation.

Transitioning to her new home, Cheryl Cosim is excited to bring her show, Sagot Kita, with True FM. “When we have a new home, we want to fix it and arrange it,” she said. “We are all excited it.

Sagot Kita has many segments. Mondays, we do legal advice, Tuesdays, we do public service. We get guests from different public agencies. Last Wednesday, we started Sagot Kita, Aplikante Serye, since it’s the mid-term elections.

“We feature senatorial aspirants. Ben Tulfo was our first guest. We had him on one-on-one. There are many coverage that we can do

“On Thursdays, we have health. On Fridays, to end the week right, we have the spiritual health. We invite a pastor. Or someone like director Olive Lamasan, who shared her spiritual journey.”

AUTHOR PROFILE

Leah C. Salterio