Back on air with Ali Sotto

After a year of hiatus, Ali Sotto and I are back on TV-radio through the newest program, Ano Sa Palagay Niyo or ASPN on Net 25 and aired simultaneously on 95.5. Eagle FM, 1062 Radyo Aguila and on Net 25’s Facebook and You Tube Live pages, Mondays to Fridays, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Last November, Ali decided to retire from broadcasting after more than two decades. To this day, she refuses to divulge, even to me, the reason why she left DZBB so as not to offend the people she has worked with. Instead, she and her husband Omar Bsaies, a retired foreign diplomat, took it as a sign to start doing their bucket list and travel to exotic places they’ve never been to.

Ali also wanted to experience waking up late in the mornings (a luxury she was deprived of while she was hosting her radio program from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.) and tending to her sprawling garden, where she has planted a variety of flowers and vegetables. She even thought of moving south of Metro Manila to be nearer to her two apos. Yes! Ali is a certified lola and is proud that she just turned 60. She has no qualms about revealing her age and she has embraced her new “citizenship.”

But alas, her retirement was cut short when she got a call from Wilma Galvante, currently program consultant of Net 25. It was Wilma, who gave Ali a break in hosting. At that time, Ali or more popularly known as Aloha was a singer and actress. But Wilma saw that Ali could do more and that was the start of Ali’s career as a host and broadcaster.

Ali who is big on “utang na loob” could not say no to Wilma, even if there were other offers.  She told Wilma she wanted to travel but Wilma said with the pandemic, traveling is almost out of the question. Wilma also asked her to help her change the programming of Net 25 to make it more commercially viable and mainstream. Only then was Ali convinced to take on the new challenge.

On the other hand, I thought I was never going to be able to go back to tele-radyo when the franchise of ABS-CBN was denied and I joined Brightlight Productions of Albee Benitez that produces Lunch Out Loud (LOL) and Rated Korina on TV5.

Like Ali, I also got a call from Wilma. She asked if I would be interested to go back to anchoring a radio show. I said it depends on who my co-anchor is going to be. After all Peter Musngi was my partner for seven years and we understood each other perfectly. He was more than a co-anchor, he was my mentor as well. When Wilma mentioned Ali, I got excited at the prospect of working with Ali. I knew Ali from way back and we’d see each other in showbiz social gatherings. The thought of two women hosting a radio program early in the morning dominated by male anchors sounded fun and challenging at the same time. I have to admit I missed anchoring and I was raring to go back.

Two months prior to our launch, we met regularly with the production staff and brainstormed on our segments and the different iterations ASPN could possibly have. Ano Sa Palagay Niyo poses the question to our viewers and listeners. They share their take on current issues. ASPN also means Ating Siyasatin Pinakamainit na News, where we break down the headline news. It can also mean Anong Say ng Panauhin Natin, when we invite resource guests to answer the issues confronting them.

Anong Sagot sa Problema Niyo, meanwhile, is our public service segment, where government agencies help citizens with their problems. These are just some of the segments ASPN has. We want to equip the viewers and listeners with the correct information in a light but informative manner. It is enough that we are already beset with so many negativity, shouldn’t we find ways to lighten the load?