Kabayan's drawing power

MANILA, Philippines - When TV Patrol’s viewership ratings hit the roof Monday last week, Nov. 18, the speculation was that this could be a fluke and was nothing more than the result of a curious public’s desire to have a glimpse of the returning former Vice President Noli “Kabayan” de Castro (photo).

But one week since that episode, ratings have reportedly remained consistently impressive. And the view is that televiewer patronage is no longer just the result of curiosity. The public wants a mature, credible news source and De Castro seems to continue to lead in this aspect.

The apparent consensus is that De Castro’s nine years in the political arena have bolstered that sense of maturity and credibility. Televiewers seem to appreciate the fact that De Castro now has a deeper understanding of the issues behind the news and knows most of the personalities in the news first-hand.

The De Castro-TV Patrol phenomenon, however, is nothing new. When TV Patrol was first aired in 1987, De Castro was an original part of the newscast team. At that time, he was also manning DZMM’s primetime news and commentary spot in the morning broadcast.

That was also about the time the popular Magandang Gabi, Bayan started to air and De Castro cemented his claim to the nickname he now sports both in broadcasting and in public service.

During that era, the programs which featured De Castro were already rating well and must have been among the many factors which accounted for the then-unprecedented number of votes he earned in the 2001 senatorial elections where he ranked No. 1.