How Halalan 2016 championed the Filipino family

The 2016 national elections marked many historic milestones. The high level of voters’ engagement can be seen in the record-high TV ratings of televised debates and voters’ turnout. Televised debates, which were last done in the 1992 elections, made a strong comeback. COMELEC reported that the voters’ turnout of 81.62 percent was the highest recorded in our history.  

The 2016 PiliPinas Presidential Townhall Debate made a whopping 40.6 percent in national TV ratings and topped all Sunday programs last April 24. The astounding ratings performance rivaled the top-rating teleseryes.

And on election day (May 9), it was TV Patrol that was the most viewed program, when most Filipinos watched ABS-CBN’s flagship newscast to see how polls were conducted. It registered a 31.1 percent in TV ratings across urban and rural homes in the country, based on Kantar Media data.

The Halalan 2016 marathon coverage across all news platforms to reach Filipinos worldwide also marked the culmination of ABS-CBN’s year-long election campaign Ipanalo ang Pamilyang Pilipino, which was launched in June 2015.

ABS-CBN went full force for the campaign, pooling all its resources and mobilizing the entire organization. The Ipanalo campaign related the dreams and disappointments of ordinary Filipinos and focused on who should be the real winners in the elections — the Filipino families.

“We want our public to discern and make an informed choice on election day. That is the paramount purpose of any election coverage. We do not deploy so many reporters all over the country just to document the event. We want our viewers to really think about the election and to take the exercise of their right to vote seriously. We want them to think in terms of, ‘What do we need to change in our country beginning with ourselves?,’” said ABS-CBN head of News Ging Reyes in an interview.

Thousand of hours were spent on news reports and special features about election candidates and issues, which were aired on ABS-CBN’s media platforms — ABS-CBN on free TV, ANC (the ABS-CBN News Channel) on cable, DZMM TeleRadyo on cable and digital television (TVPlus), DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 on AM radio, The Filipino Channel, ABS-CBN’s video streaming site iwantv.com.ph and on ABS-CBN News online

One of the pillars of Halalan 2016 was the KampanyaSerye, a series of in-depth reports on the election scene in different parts of the nation, and which also documented the road to Malacañang of the five candidates for the highest post in the land.

Meanwhile, as fresh news and investigative pieces were being put out to inform and enlighten viewers, ABS-CBN News’ Bayan Mo iPatrol Mo group traveled hundreds of miles all over the nation to conduct workshops on citizen journalism and empower Filipinos to be vigilant, to report anomalies and wrongdoings in their communities as Bayan Patrollers, starting in the last election season.

ABS-CBN News’ Digital Media group, on the other hand, worked double time to deliver the COMELEC Halalan 2016 App, a joint project with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), and an interactive Halalan 2016 microsite, which housed all election-related content produced by ABS-CBN. 

By November, the characters in one of the tightest and most dramatic presidential races ever were completed. Upon the start of the campaign period, ABS-CBN’s seasoned journalists embedded themselves to the campaign trail to follow each candidate and give Filipinos a closer look at the people who want to be their leader.

Debates, guestings and speaking engagements came left and right for the candidates. At that time, DZMM, the network’s AM radio station, had already completed grilling candidates for president and vice president in its Ikaw na Ba ang Para sa Pamilyang Pilipino interview series. Senatorial candidates had also been put on the hot seat on ANC’s Headstart.

The Halalan 2016 fever went up a notch higher when ABS-CBN organized its own vice-presidential debate, called Harapan ng Bise. The network wanted to give more Filipinos an opportunity to know the candidates for vice president, especially those in areas which the other VP debate was not able to reach. Harapan ng Bise’s 21.4 percent national TV rating, the highest on its timeslot that day, proved that more people got to watch the debate.

The presidential candidates’ turn to present their platforms and win the nation’s vote came last April 24 at the Pili Pinas 2016 Presidential Town Hall Debate held at the PHINMA University of Pangasinan. The candidates faced the most pressing issues affecting Filipino families and were asked to lay down their plans. The final showdown of presidential bets did not disappoint at all as all candidates maintained diplomacy while trying to prove they are better than their opponents.

Finally on May 9, ABS-CBN began its cross platform coverage as early as 10 p.m. of May 8 on DZMM, followed by ANC at 3:30 a.m. on May 9, and ABS-CBN an hour and a half after. ABS-CBN’s top anchors were on board in shifts, while veteran reporters scoured the whole nation for news.

A social listening segment was incorporated into the coverage of all ABS-CBN platforms, to keep track of the buzz online and give importance to the voice of the people.

Now, the electorate has spoken on who they think should lead this country. While we chart our future together as a nation, the Kapamilya network will also continue to be in the service of the Filipino worldwide.