A Grief to Basyang

July 14, 2010

“Para po ito sa kapakanan ng mga mangingisda, winasak ang 14 na bangka ditto sa Bataan.” I answered a call from a woman of Maribeles, Bataan , who wish to report an unexpected tragedy of their town because of the inaccurate report of PAGASA.

I asked my supervisor, Mr. Sherwin Alfaro if we can air the grief of this woman. Seriously, Sir Sherwin gave me a command to call the woman again for 3:00 news of Mr. Reggie Espiritu. I felt grateful.

As a concern person who sympathize to what happened to their town, I made a promise to call the woman again to report her complain and expression to the PAGASA on air.

When I reminded Mr. Reggie Espiritu about what happened to Maribeles, Bataan, I was badly disappointed to hear his word, “Saka na ‘yan, unahin natin yung mas importante”.

Time goes by, the word “saka na” turned to become “wag na”. The report of this woman didn’t get a chance to be on air.

There are lots of problems I received this morning, asking for help, announcements, and clarification. I am always desperate to help to all of my callers.

I realized that there are many stories and problems surrounding the country and the world. But everything is just a story; it’s a part of everyday life in news center. A single story is just a particle of many stories. Nothing personal. How cruel it is.

The big and important news are those news came from the big and important person as well, If not, a story is just like a grain of sand in the wide seashore.

Here are some problems I received, asking for “Serbisyong Publiko”:

· Lost bag of documents and almost 12, 000 pesos left from the taxi.

· Looking for a text mate

· Bed ridden auntie, need an electricity to support her breathing.

· Resume of working time.

· Electricity problems

· Suspension of classes

Some of the lead I got from the reporters:

· Phil. Coastguard, tuloy ang search and rescue sa mga nawawalang mangingisda.

· Isang ginang ang namatay matapos makuryente, habang 2 magkapatid ang nadaganan nang nabuwal na puno ng mangga habang natutulog-patay.

*1 day ago, I watched evening news of ABS-CBN telling the story of 14 boats destroyed by the typhoon Basyang. I felt the sense of pride. If they just listened to me, we might be the first to report this news.