2013’s biggest headlines

As calamities, upheavals and political scandals rocked the country in 2013, the men and women of GMA News and Public Affairs doubled their efforts to cover the year’s biggest events for Filipino televiewers and online audiences.

Video images of destruction from natural calamities this year will certainly linger in the minds of millions of Filipinos. GMA News and Public Affairs was up to the challenge of delivering these images and providing in-depth field reports, even under rather difficult coverage situations.

The deadliest tragedies struck central Philippines in the last quarter of the year: A magnitude 7.2 quake that killed more than 200 people and the horrific Supertyphoon Yolanda that has claimed the lives of over 6,000 residents and counting.

The powerful quake jolted Bohol and the neighboring provinces of Cebu and Siquijor in the morning of Oct. 15, reducing numerous buildings, homes and centuries-old churches to rubble.

Transmitting live reports from Bohol and Cebu on the day of the quake, GMA was among the first to show the massive extent of the damage.

Barely a month later, Supertyphoon Yolanda made landfall — one of the strongest weather disturbances ever in recorded history. Local and international weather bureaus and media outfits, including GMA News, broadcast warnings about the typhoon days before its arrival.

GMA News correspondents Jiggy Manicad, Mikaela Papa and Love Añover were stationed in Leyte even before the typhoon hit the province. They were among the first to report on the devastation caused by Yolanda, personally experiencing the wrath of the supertyphoon.

Roads, buildings and communication were severely affected, while electrical power was cut in battered provinces, including Eastern Samar and Leyte.

Victims tearfully called out to their relatives through GMA newscasts, with their pleas for help picked up by news agencies around the world

In September, the nation was stirred by images of intense gun battles in Zamboanga City between government forces and a faction of the Moro Nationalist Liberation Front (MNLF). The two-week standoff left 140 dead, 268 wounded and displaced nearly 120,000 residents.

GMA News delivered live reports from the battle zone and gave viewers first-hand accounts through its reporters on the ground. Jiggy, one of those assigned to cover the clash in Santa Catalina village, delivered a live update minutes after a mortar exploded near his remote location.

Meanwhile, public outrage against corruption in government simmered in August, as successive exposés blew the lid on the alleged collusion between several lawmakers and businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

This culminated with the so-called Million People March at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta — a peaceful gathering of citizens from all walks of life that became the largest protest action under the three-year-old Aquino administration.

Fueled by testimonies from Napoles’ former staff, media reports drew attention to the perpetrators’ modus operandi to pocket some P10B in kickbacks from pork barrel funds.

GMA delivered in-depth reports and the latest updates, including the live coverage on the end of Napoles’ flight from government, authorities. Senate inquiries on the scam were aired real-time on GMA News TV — first, with whistleblowers taking the witness stand and later, with Napoles herself.

Going beyond the headlines, GMA News Research and the GMA News Special Assignments Team co-produced a series of exposés on non-government organizations (NGOs) other than those linked to Napoles.

Bantay Kaban ng Bayan, a special production hosted by anchor Mike Enriquez, traced the extent of scam in various provinces. Coverage teams inspected pork barrel-funded projects that were flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA). Many of these initiatives turned out to be incomplete deliveries, or even nonexistent ones.

During the Million People March, GMA delivered live reports from Luneta and highlighted stories from ordinary folk who added their voices to the call for stricter controls over government spending.

Utilizing the latest technologies, GMA News and Public Affairs and its partners embarked on the most comprehensive coverage of the 2013 mid-term elections. Eleksyon 2013 was marked by 3D videographics, digital animation and real-time news gathering tools across the television, radio, online and social media platforms.

As part of this effort, GMA produced special programs geared towards helping the electorate come up with informed decisions about candidates. These shows include Paninindigan, hosted by Mel Tiangco and Enriquez, and GMA News TV’s Pagsubok ng mga Kandidato, hosted by Jessica Soho.

Eleksyon 2013 emerged as the nation’s most-watched elections coverage on TV, as shown by data from ratings service provider AGB Nielsen Media Research.

Taking on a coverage of global interest, GMA News sent a team of journalists led by Vicky Morales, together with Jiggy Manicad and Ruth Cabal, to cover the selection of the new pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. The effort allowed audiences to get a closer view of the proceedings, through the accounts of Filipino reporters.

Cardinals from around the world, including Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, convened in March for closed-door elections inside the Sistine Chapel of St. Peter’s Basilica.

When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis, GMA was one of the first to broadcast the news in its Habemus Papam coverage. The reportage won for GMA News a Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) trophy for the Best Special Event Coverage.

In a related development, GMA Network, through the GMA Kapuso Foundation, also provided relief supplies to victims of Yolanda. It also helped raise funds for relief operations through the Operation Bayanihan Telethon. Aside from accepting pledges, the telethon also accommodated callers who were unable to reach their loved ones in Leyte and Samar. GMA News also produced the song Pagbangon interpreted by Julie Ann San Jose, and donated all proceeds to the survivors.

With another year coming to a close, GMA News and Public Affairs re-affirms its commitment to deliver fair and accurate information to all Filipinos — as it happens, when it happens.