To serve, not to be served

MANILA, Philippines - When you say UNTV, the first thing most people think of is Ang Dating Daan, its flagship blocktimer.

Van Avenido, VP for Operations and External Affairs, doesn’t blame them for this. But he insists the station is not all about religion alone, and that its owner is a layman.

“Our emphasis is public service,” he explains. “We just added Libreng Sakay sa Jeep to our lineup of public service programs. The free jeepney rides are from Monumento to Marikina and from Marikina to Recto.”

Commuters not only get to their destination for free, they also do so in the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle.

“We have teamed up with LTFRB (Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board) for this,” adds Avenido.

It’s not the first time the station is offering free rides to the public. Its big boss, Daniel Razon, a.k.a. Mr. Public Service has launched Libreng Sakay Bus, Libreng Sakay sa MRT for Senior Citizens and Libreng Sakay sa Eroplano for OFWs.

Senior citizens line up side by side with the young in UNTV’s medical missions (called Clinic ni Kuya), for which Avenido says the station shells out P200,000 daily. The free clinics not only offer free consultation. They also give free medicines from Botika ni Kuya.

All these, however, are just adjuncts to the station’s main line — broadcasting. And Avenido and company are proud to say they stand out from the rest because they not only entertain, they serve as well. The station doesn’t have the weepy dramas, variety shows and talent searches that are the staples of other TV stations. Instead, it has a string of public service shows that touch on various issues, round-the-clock. Among them are:

Law Profile (Thursdays, 5 to 6 p.m.) presents skits and re-enactments depicting true-to-life drama and legal cases filed in the courts.

Estranghero (Fridays, 5 to 6 p.m.) features OFWs’ lives and interesting places to visit. Its correspondents in various countries help OFWs iron out problems.

Kayo ang Humatol (Mondays, 7 to 8 p.m.) guests political candidates in a one-on-one debate.

Rotary in Action (Wednesdays, 7 to 8 p.m.) presents Rotarians’ outreach projects.

Eagle gives tips on quick, simple and practical solutions to problems on furniture, appliances and equipment in the home in Easy Lang Yan (Tuesdays, 4:30 to 5 p.m.).

But can this impressive program lineup reach the most number of televiewers? You’ll be surprised.

“We now have 20 relay stations and are working on 40 more for a total of 60 nationwide,” crows Avenido. He adds that once the project is done, UNTV will have more relay stations than the country’s largest TV networks.

“By yearend, we’ll have round-the-clock live streaming via Internet. People in other countries will experience our programs in real time, or at the same time televiewers get to see it here,” he goes on.

Is this industry David then capable of beating the Goliaths of broadcasting?

UNTV proved that it can tap correspondents even in far-off Maguindanao, where some of its cameramen were slain in the gruesome massacre that killed 58 journalists.

“You’ll be surprised how a small station like us has people even in Maguindanao,” states Avenido.

No wonder he speaks with so much confidence.