SUMMARY
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SURIGAO DEL NORTE, Philippines – Local news reporters have been out of work since Typhoon Odette (Rai) ripped through Surigao City on December 16.
The typhoon that claimed lives and destroyed properties also suddenly left 30 journalists jobless in Surigao City and Siargao Island.
Rey Suravasquez, station manager of local radio station DXMS All Star FM in Surigao City, said on Tuesday, December 28, that he and his colleagues have had no income for 12 days now.
“We are totally out of work and we are financially affected,” Suravasquez lamented on Facebook.
Suravasquez said Odette’s strong winds toppled their broadcast tower.
Last Thursday, December 23, he posted photos of crew trying to repair their facilities, with a message for advertisers, clients, and listeners.
“We regret to inform you that our station was totally damaged. This moment, the management is now working…for the immediate rehabilitation. By prayer and blessings of our Almighty Father, we are hoping we could be back on air within this week.”
“We don’t know when we will get back on our feet,” he told Rappler in an interview over Messenger on Tuesday.
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) secretary-general Len Olea said Suravasquez is the guild’s local chapter head.
“We’re still trying to contact him to ask the names and contact numbers of others affected,” said NUJP treasurer Jhoanna Ballaran. “But [it is] approved, we will send immediate aid.”
Edito Mapayo, station manager of Banat Radio based in Placer, Surigao del Norte, said their station was not spared either from devastation.
“We got wrecked badly,” the broadcaster said, adding that he doesn’t know how to survive as his sole income comes from the radio station. His colleagues, he added, are just as badly affected.
Not all radio stations are down and out. Tirso Clerigo, station manager of RPN-DXKS, said they still have on-and-off operations.
“We use a generator to power our station in order to deliver news to our listeners and we shut it off after the news program,” he said.
Surigao City lost power when Odette destroyed transmission lines both from the grid and the local power utilities.
Sol Monteros, a news anchor of DXSJ, another local radio station in Surigao City, said they are also operating on and off.
“This hurts us bad as advertisers won’t place their advertisements,” she said.
A local radio station in General Luna town in Siargao Island was totally destroyed, according to its owner Veronico Solloso, the vice mayor of the town.
He said their equipment, tower, and office are now in ruins, affecting employees’ income.
Bombo Radyo Butuan City reporter Kevin Linaac expressed sympathy for colleagues and said the station is opening three slots to fellow reporters who have lost jobs in Surigao del Norte.
GMA stringer Natz Corbeta still has his job, but his house in Pilar town, also in Siargao, was damaged.
Fellow reporter Raffy Tima of GMA, who was covering the typhoon aftermath in Siargao Island, gave him some aid, Corbeta said. – Rappler.com
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