Uncertainties of times

(Jannelle So, a young broadcaster-writer, writes a column for The Philippine STAR sports section starting this issue.

She currently hosts the halftime and pre-game shows for the PBA and is on the air Monday mornings over the AM radio where she co-hosts In The Zone, a two-hour weekly sports program. She also writes for magazines.

Jannelle graduated with a degree in Communication Arts, cum laude, in 1998 from Miriam College where she was a consistent dean’s lister and honor student.

Our young columnist was in FHM’s 100 Sexiest survey and, this year, was voted third sexiest woman in the world in a poll of FHM readers and fans - Ed.)

Last Wednesday, the PBA Board of Governors arrived at a decision. The much coveted coverage rights of the league were given to the consortium of government-owned stations, NBN-IBC. When I received the news, I was covering the Asian Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship in Clark, Pampanga with some of the current crew of Viva-Vintage. And right there and then, we felt mixed emotions of shock and fear. What everybody once thought was a stable job is no more. There is understandably, fear of the unknown. For a lot of people, the PBA coverage has been bread and butter.

"What now? And where to?" These are the questions resounding in the uneasy silence of about 45 members of the Broadcast Engineering crew of Viva-Vintage, aware of the fact that NBN and IBC may have their own talents and crew to use for the consortium’s coverage. Cellular phones started ringing and beeping with text messages from the crew members’ families in Manila. Panic can be noted as they are now faced with uncertainty.

Ramir Bulatao, a cameraman, started as a cable man 15 long years ago and has been shooting the league until now. Joey Santillan began work in 1989 when the machines were still not as hi-tech as the ones we have now. He did the graphics for the PBA manually. Now, he’s in charge of the graphics machine. Ronnie Yniguez left Baguio after the July 16, 1990 earthquake and was hired by Mr. Bobong Velez as a messenger. A year after he was promoted to being the company’s first librarian. He has been since. Ben Gamboa, editor for the PBA clips and features for 13 years, has managed to put his kids through school because of his job. One graduated with a degree in accounting and another in computer science in a private university.

These are only some of the people whose lives and families’ will definitely be affected by this recent development in the PBA. Joen Maderazzo, a cameraman for four years now, plans to relocate his wife and two kids, including a 10-month old baby, to the province for fear that he now might not be able to keep up with the high cost of living here in Manila. Operations supervisor Sabello Bibit, Jr. is now planning to find another work as a security guard after 10 long years of serving in the PBA coverage. He adds that he might also have to transfer his three kids from private to public school now that he is unsure about this job in the broadcast engineering department of Viva-Vintage.

Right now, life and work goes on for these people. We finished the Asian Beach Volleyball Special which will be shown this week. Aside from events like this, they continue to labor on the coverage of this 2002 Selecta-PBA All-Filipino Cup. They go about their chores like the way they have been doing in the past decade or so. And yet, when anxiety hits them while they pack up the cable wires, cameras and other equipment in the OB-van, the questions ring through their heads.

Will Viva still keep them now that the popular entertainment outfit lost the bid to cover the PBA? If so, in what department? Will they still be part of Viva-Vintage that was formed to take care of the PBA? Or should they now get ready to move to Viva-TV? Or Viva films, perhaps? Will the new coverors opt to train their new crew for basketball coverage or will they absorb these old reliables who have known the PBA coverage like their own? Answers to these questions, only time will tell. But until then, they face a hazy and glum future, the colloquial Pinoy phrase "Bahala na," fast becoming their mantra.

Whatever happens to them after this, we should keep in mind that PBA is PBA partly because of them. It’s their hardwork and dedication that delivered the games in our living rooms through our television sets. They are probably ranked the lowest in the PBA pyramid, but they are definitely as important.