One voice for the Catholic Philippines

On Monday morning, May 15, from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., the Catholic Media Network will launch a program, simultaneously, over the radio stations of the Philippine Federation of Catholic Broadcasters.

The Program will originate from Radio Veritas, 846 in Manila, the flagship of the Federation. It will be carried over the Dream Satellite, and will be called "VERITAS PILIPINAS". It will be the counterpart of TV Maria.

It will be the first time in Catholic media history that the Catholic Church in the Philippines will have one unified voice throughout the nation. There is no Filipino, anywhere in the country, who can not get to a transistor radio.

The program will not dwell on sensational scandals, moral corruption and crime. It will follow the vision of the Archdiocese of Manila – leading all those who listen to it to the fullness of life, concentrating on the welfare of the poor, the family, and above all the youth.

The target audience is not only Catholics. The program will try to present deep human Filipino values, which are important to all the children of God–Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims, Taoist, the Born Again and even the Born Against. It will feature the good news, positively, as a relief from all the bad news that is flooding our commercial media.

The Philippine Federation of Catholic Broadcasters, which is the heart of the Catholic Media Network, numbers 49 radio stations - 29 AM, amplitude modulation; and 20 FM, frequency modulation. It has three small television channels in Sorsogon, Mati and Jolo, and one strong regional network in Cebu.

VERITAS PILIPINAS will focus on Renewing Our Public Life Through Moral Values, the subject which is of deepest concern to the whole nation. The program will be highly interactive, drawing out the thoughts of the common man, giving a voice to the voiceless.

Father Francis Lucas, president of the Catholic Media Network, is in charge of the program, with the capable assistance of Father Anton Pascual, the president of Veritas 846. The segments will be the Good News of the day; Value stories; feedback from the rich and poor all over the country; new technologies of communication; reflections of the leaders of the nation in business, in media and in government; guests from our great universities who are completely objective; and prayer.

The main anchor of the program will be Ariel Ayala of Veritas 846. VERITAS PILIPINAS is starting with this one hour, on prime time, in the early morning. But it will grow steadily, as time goes on. The footprint of the Dream Satellite covers the entire Philippines; a large part of Asia, including Southeast China; the whole continent of North America - the United States, Canada and Mexico; and 22 nations in the Middle East. It has tremendous potential.

These are the initial participating radio stations:

Station DZPA -AM @ 873 khz, Abra

Station DWWM-FM @ 96.9 mhz, Abra

Station DZWT -AM @ 540 khz, Baguio

Station DZWR - FM @ 99.9 mhz, Baguio

Station DZNS - AM @ 963 khz, Vigan

Station DZJO - FM @ 101.7 mhz, Baler, Quezon

Station DZJO - FM @ 92.7 mhz, Infanta, Quezon

Station DWRV - FM @ 90.1 mhz, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya

Station DWMX - FM @ 99.7 mhz, Santiago City

Station DZUL - FM @ 103.3 mhz, San Fernando, La Union

Station DZWM - AM @ 891 khz, Alaminos

Station DWTJ - FM @ 99.3 mhz, Alaminos

Station DZRM - FM @ 99.7 mhz, Tarlac

Station DZTH - AM @ 14.6 khz, Nueva Ecija

Station DZRV - AM @ 846 khz, Manila

Station DWAM - FM @ 99.1 mhz, Batangas

Station DWVM - FM @ 103.9 mhz, Lucena City

Station DZGN - FM @ 102.3 mhz, Sorsogon

Station DZVT - AM @ 1395 khz, Mindoro

Station DYRD - AM @ 1161 khz, Tagbilaran

Station DYRD - FM @ 102.7 mhz, Tagbilaran

Station DYVW - AM @ 1386 khz, Borongan

Station DYKA - AM @ 801 khz, Antique

Station DXDB - AM @ 594 khz, Malaybalay

Station DXSN - AM @ 1017 khz, Surigao

Station DXDD - AM @ 657 khz, Ozamiz

Station DXDD - FM @ 100.7 mhz, Ozamiz

Station DXCP - AM @ 585 khz, General Santos

Station DXHM - AM @ 549 khz, Mati, Davao

Station DXGN - FM @ 89.9 mhz, Matina, Davao

Station DXVP - AM @ 1467 khz, Zamboanga

Station DXMM - AM @ 927 khz, Jolo

Station DXGD - AM @ 549 khz, Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

The radio stations of the Philippine Federation of Catholic Broadcasters, the radio arm of the Catholic Media Network, sprang up in an entirely different way from the purely commercial networks.

The broadcasters who went into the business to earn money built their stations where the money was, the centers of population. But the CMN stations were born out of the apostolic need of the Bishops to reach their people. Very often their dioceses included mountainous areas which the priest could visit only once or twice a year. With a radio station, the Bishop could talk to his people regularly.

That is why the CMN includes 29 AM stations. The AM signal can climb up and down mountains, into the valleys, and to places otherwise inaccessible. The FM signal travels in a straight line. It stops when it hits a mountain. So the Bishops chose AM, building their stations to reach the places where their people were, but where the money was not.

They were not thinking of money. They were thinking of themselves as shepherds of their flock, with lambs lost in the mountains. So the CMN, as a network, is unique. But it suits the purpose of VERITAS PILIPINAS. It reaches the people!

* * *

There is a daily texting service called: "One Minute With God",

You can reach it on Globe by texting: "Reuter @ 2978".

You can reach it on Smart by texting: "Reuter @ 326".